Unpredictable
by Namantos
Summary: Angst. Constantly ignored, Keigo decides to erase every online chat he ever registered on to avoid his "friends", but before he terminates his last profile there is a mail in his inbox from a stranger. He decides to read it. Multi-pairings.
1. Chapter 1

He – Asano Keigo – is an ordinary guy who goes to school every week-day, hates homework or any kind of brain-activity unless it involves playing video games or role-playing to invent strategies – he is actually quite talented when it comes to games. He doesn't do too well on exams, but he doesn't do too bad either, making sure he passes every class just not too noticeable or the teachers might get suspicious. One time he did try his best on an exam and it ended with hit parents being called to school for a meeting about their son cheating on exams to get full score on exams – he will never forget that time and he will never do it ever again. He used to take pride in his friends, though, having been used to be alone most of his life until he met Mizuiro Kojima in Middle School – though they didn't have much in common they were both rejects for various reasons and were pulled towards each other. However, already on their first day of High School Mizuiro went straight to the guys that scared his friend the most and befriended them, in the process of course pulling Keigo along, but now, two years later in their final year of High School, he found himself questioning if he was really wanted among his so called friends. He had always been goofy and hyper, but he thought they were okay with it; it's just the way he thought he had to be to be popular, but no matter what he did he was always an annoyance to everyone. He had often asked each of them if they wanted to come home with him and play some game or just do something, but they would say that they were busy – then someone else would ask if they had anything to do and they'd say no. They were painfully obvious in rejecting him, and for little more than 2 years he had pushed it aside and continued just the way he always had. Now, though, he was tired of pretending to be oblivious. For two weeks now he had been ignoring all of his so called friends, but none of them had even noticed he was gone. So that's how much this normal guy was worth – he wasn't even worth being happily missed by some who obviously didn't want him around.

In fact, one day he was so tired of everything he just wanted to scream. Everything was just wrong with his life. None of his friends spoke with him, his bike had been totally molested so he had to walk home, and on the way home some older guys – of course – mugged him. He wanted, but he didn't scream; doing so would only result in him being depressed that his screams were hollow and soundless.

So he had run home as fast as he could do avoid having a plane crash on top of his head (it wouldn't surprise him anymore if it did). Luckily no one was home so he wouldn't have to explain just yet why he hadn't brought his bike home. He disappeared into his room, turning on his computer to start erasing every user on whatever chat he ever found and got his friends to create a page on too – they always ignored him no matter how many times he wrote to them, but they always wrote happily to each other. He was just sick of it, being treated like he wasn't even there. He admits it might be a bit childish to erase his profiles, but he didn't want to give them the satisfaction of seeing him suffer in his loneliness – he had enough of that being ignored in school, he didn't need to imagine their grins as they chose to ignore his messages in a stupid chat-room.

Ten minutes later he had already erased his user-name from four such chats, and he was now looking through his last one. It was the most popular chat-room, his friends used to write a lot of stuff to each other there; posted pictures of parties and adventures they had forgotten to tell Keigo about. Well, he didn't care anymore. If they didn't want anything to do with him then he wouldn't bother annoying them anymore, even if it meant being alone for the rest of his life – he was lonely already, it wouldn't make a difference. He was about to enter the page where you erase your profile when suddenly he saw that he received a mail. Deciding he could read the mail (it was probably just some silly news-letter from the staff anyway) before deleting his user, he got to the message-page and saw that it was another user with a name he had never seen before: _Jaegerjaquez_. It was probably only another bastard who wrote to say how stupid he was to post pictures of himself when he looks like such a clown; it wouldn't be the first time. But curious as he was, Keigo couldn't just ignore it (even if it was something evil in the mail the day just couldn't get any worse than it already was). So he opened it and read.

_**From:**__Jaegerjaquez_

_**To:**__Delicate_Raizer_

_**Title:**__** Hey**_

_**Message:**_

**I'm bored. Wanna chat?**

Keigo just stared at the screen; dead sure it was a really bad joke. Why would some stranger write to _him _and ask if he wants to chat? Who is it anyway? Determined to find out before erasing his user he pressed on the username of this mystery-person and got to his or her homepage. No pictures, no information, no nothing, simply the username 'Jaegerjaques' was presented to him, which means his/her information is only visible for those on the friends-list, which Keigo obviously isn't on. Shrugging it off Keigo decides to humour the person, fully knowing that it could just backfire and hurt him more once he gets interested. It doesn't matter anyway; he's erasing that page once he's finished typing to this person.

_**From:**__Delicate_Raizer_

_**To:**__ Jaegerjaques_

_**Title:**__ Re: __**Hey**_

_**Message:**_

**Okay, sure. But what about?**

He was almost certain he wouldn't get another reply but found himself sitting there, waiting for it anyway. It didn't take too long before he was surprised a second time when another message arrived.

_**From:**__Jaegerjaquez_

_**To:**__Delicate_Raizer_

_**Title:**__Re: __**Hey**_

_**Message:**_

**I'm just so extremely bored.**

**University is driving me up the wall with assignments and shit – I seriously hate staying behind for evening-classes.**

**Tell me about **_**your**_** day.**

So whoever this Jaegerjaques is, he or she goes to university. Would it be too straightforward to ask if it's a girl or guy? Yeah, it probably would.

_**From:**__Delicate_Raizer_

_**To:**__ Jaegerjaques_

_**Title:**__ Re: __**Hey**_

_**Message:**_

**Evening-class and you sit in chat-rooms? Nice going, sounds like me.**

**I only just got home from school (my final year in High School). Has been a really shitty day, though. My bike was destroyed, and I was robbed on my way home. Just plain shitty.**

As soon as he sent it re realized how pathetic he must sound. Mugged? Shit, only geeks get mugged. Well, he probably _is_ a geek, but he didn't have to brag about it like that. Damn, he just ruined his chance of a good conversation.

Sighing at his own stupidity he left the screen as it was, going out to make dinner; it was usually up to him to get food on the table anyway since his parents often worked late and his sister simply couldn't cook for the life of her. Not that he complained about cooking – at least that gave him a purpose in life.

About thirty minutes later he returned to his computer, just to see if he by chance had gotten another message before he sat down to eat, and sure enough, there was a message waiting for him; _two_ in fact.

_**From:**__Jaegerjaquez_

_**To:**__Delicate_Raizer_

_**Title:**__Re: __**Hey**_

_**Message:**_

**Robbed? That sucks. Get mugged a lot?**

**You sound like one of those who gets harassed a lot – you gotta stand up to them, they wont hurt you if they fear you.**

Keigo actually laughed out loud at that. Sure, he could just see himself standing up against the bullies in school when he couldn't even get attention from his friends. Opening the newest mail sent only a few minutes ago from the same person, he got confused, causing him to hurriedly write a reply.

_**From:**__Jaegerjaquez_

_**To:**__Delicate_Raizer_

_**Title:**__Re: __**Hey**_

_**Message:**_

**Aww, did I say something stupid or do you just not wanna talk?**

_**From:**__Delicate_Raizer_

_**To:**__ Jaegerjaques_

_**Title:**__ Re: __**Hey**_

_**Message:**_

**Oh, sorry, I was making dinner.**

He didn't know what else to write and feared that he might've screwed up this chat so bad by now that whoever was receiving his answer was probably laughing at his behalf by now. Though he did get another reply fairly quick.

_**From:**__Jaegerjaquez_

_**To:**__Delicate_Raizer_

_**Title:**__Re: __**Hey**_

_**Message:**_

**All right, cool. What are you having?**

**Look, my class finishes in ten minutes, I gotta start packing up.**

**Talk to you later.**

Typing a reply with what he had made for dinner he swiftly went to eat, thinking that for sure that was the last he had heard from Jaegerjaquez – but then again, maybe it wouldn't hurt to keep that chat for just a few more days, just to see if he _did_ get another reply.

Sure enough, Jaegerjaquez wrote again and they began talking quite a lot, though mostly about movies, music and games much to Keigo's delight. Though he still didn't know whether the person was a guy or girl and he didn't want to ask, but it was quite unfair that he couldn't see any of Jaegerjaques personal information on that site, but he/she could read everything about Keigo.

This went on the coming days, then weeks turning into two months, and they still mostly talked about games and such. A week of holiday was coming up and Keigo had absolutely no idea what he would do that week, especially since Jaegerjaquez had told him that he/she would be away with some friends and wouldn't be able to go online. It was amazing how much Keigo had begun to look forward to replying to mails, but really, he had perhaps gotten too used to it. On the first morning of his supposed holiday he had opened up his computer and logged in out of habit and saw that he indeed had gotten a mail from his online-friend – he immediately went to open it and almost fell out of his chair. A number. He had gotten Jaegerjaques freaking _number!_

_**From:**__Jaegerjaquez_

_**To:**__Delicate_Raizer_

_**Title:**__Re: __**Hey**_

_**Message:**_

**I'm leaving in ten minutes, just thought I'd log in to say bye.**

**And to give you my number, just in case you'd like to chat.**

**I mean, who knows, I might get horribly bored out here!**

**I **_**was**_** tricked into coming along, after all.**

The number was typed in at the bottom of the message, staring back at Keigo's wide eyes as if the numbers were mocking him. Really, he'd gotten someone's number! Just straight out of nowhere! That's just so cool! But… would he ever dare to actually phone this Jaegerjaquez?

***********************

Three days went by and he was practically bored out of his mind. Playing games was only fun for so long when there's no one to play with, and he didn't have any books left to read – hell, he didn't even have any _homework_ to busy himself with. What should he do?

If he went for a walk he'd probably get mugged or beaten on the streets, so that was out of the question. Trying to get one of his so-called friends to come over was also out of the question. So what could he possibly do? Well, he could…

… No, he couldn't. Could he? What if it was a bogus number and he'd end up calling some pervert or something! Well, if it was then he'd just say he dialled wrong number and hang up (his number is hidden anyway, one score for being paranoid). But what if he interrupted something important? That would be so embarrassing. Maybe he should send a text message first? No, then he would come off as a wimp, that's definitely not positive. But he was too much of a coward; he simply couldn't pick up his cell-phone and make the call.

Brown eyes glanced at his clock on the computer – 22:17. Was it too late to call? He had been trying all day to decide whether or not he should call, but he simply wasn't getting any answer from anywhere. If he called now it probably wasn't too late, seeing as they used to chat to midnight every evening, but maybe Jaegerjaquez was busy… What if Keigo called in the middle of something and ruined everything?

No, he's been a coward all his life, and Jaegerjaquez was constantly telling him to toughen up – that's definitely what he should be doing. Anyway, if he made a fool of himself it was easy to just delete his account in that chat-room, his number wouldn't be traceable and no one was home to watch or hear him. That settles it, then. He grabbed his phone, plumped down on his bed and forced his fingers to dial the number he had saved in his phone under the name Jaegerjaquez and held the phone to his ear with a very shaking hand. On signal… two… three. Perhaps it was for the best if Jaegerjaquez didn't-

"_Hello?"_

Fuck, shit, damn! Any little bit of courage was officially blown away as the receiver picked up the phone and replied.

"_Hello?"_ the same voice repeated a little firmer this time. _"Anyone there?"_ It was a male voice, sounding rather annoyed and… more mature than Keigo did. _"Fuck, if ya're not gonna talk then-"_

"U-uhm, h-hi." Could one possibly stutter more than Keigo does when he's nervous? The other end got very quiet, save for the loud noises in the background from lots of people talking – it sounded like it could be a party. "E-eh, you g-gave me your number, I t-think." That sounded more stupid than it had done inside Keigo's head, he just knew this wasn't turning out well. "D-delicate raiser." There was another silence that followed, making Keigo believe that maybe it was the wrong number, or maybe the receiver simply hadn't been listening or heard him at all. He was making a fool of himself, yep.

"_Oh!" _the male voice practically screamed in recognition. _"Why the hell didn't you say so to begin with!"_

"Eh, I just… thought it would sound… too cheesy." If he answered the phone and someone said _'Hi there, I'm Delicate Raizer'_ he would've changed number immediately.

"_Hah, maybe you're right! Oh, hang on just a moment."_ Keigo waited, shaking so bad he thought the bed would break, listening as Jaegerjaquez told someone he was 'getting the fuck away from them' and then bid them all a goodnight. Moments later the sounds of the other people were dying down and the voice of the male who called himself Jaegerjaquez returned. _"Ya saved me from being tortured to death in boredom, man. Shit, I could barely hear a word you said in there with them loud idiots." _Keigo had a feeling it wasn't just because of surrounding noise, he had probably been whispering more than speaking, but he chose not to say that. _"Thought you'd never call, though. Whazup?"_

"Eh, I just…" What would he say now? This was so different from typing messages on a computer. "I was just… bored."

"_That's always the case with us, ain't it."_ Yes, that's why Jaegerjaquez had started writing to him in the first place – boredom at university evening-classes.

Through the phone Keigo could hear keys being inserted in a lock, then a door opening and closing, always followed by some strange (annoyed?) sound from the male on the other end of the line, and finally a relieved sigh as he probably sat down or something. The silence was tense, though, as if neither knew what to say now that they were speaking instead of writing. Was this always the case, or was it maybe because of slight disappointment that Jaegerjaquez obviously wasn't a hot female?

"_So…"_ Jaegerjaquez interrupted Keigo's drifting thoughts. _"Wha'cha been up to this week?"_

"P-playing games, going m-mad, nothing unusual," he replied, trying to get back to his normal self, imagining it was just Mizuiro he was talking to; that would've been a lot easier.

"_Do you always stutter?"_ came the very blunt question, startling Keigo. _"It's just… you don't stutter when ya type." _Now, it could've just been his imagination, but Keigo was sure he could hear a murmured _'obviously' _as if the other male too could hear the stupidity in his own words.

"Eh, I… I just stutter when I'm nervous."

"_Oh?"_ The guy immediately took the bite, any previous discomfort forgotten. _"Do I make you nervous?"_ He sounded terribly amused and pleased with himself.

"I-I mean, it's… It's not every day I call someone I hardly know. I didn't even know if…" Oops, he had trailed off, almost saying something he was sure he shouldn't.

"_Hm?" _Jaegerjaquez inquired. _"'Didn't even know if' what?"_ Although Jaegerjaquez couldn't possibly see Keigo's blush the brown-haired teen was embarrassed that he reacted that way. _"Didn't know if I was a male or female?"_ the other filled in, spot on. _"Well, that's part of the thrill, ain't it?"_ He laughed, but not evilly or anything, just… honestly genuine. _"Besides, does it matter?"_

"N-no, I suppose it doesn't." And it shouldn't. Even if it wasn't a hot girl he could possibly hope would have slightly bad eyesight so he could have a shot at her, maybe he could at least get a new friend out of this.

For about an hour they talked about anything and nothing, just like they would if they would've been in front of their computers typing messages; neither of them noticing how late it was getting _or_ how much this call would cost the High scholar. Well, that is until Keigo's door suddenly burst open, causing him to give a highly unmanly scream and dropping his phone beside him on his bed.

"It's all _your fault_, Keigo!" his sister barked, angry and about ready to explode, pointing a very scary finger at her younger brother. "You're a curse, Keigo, a _curse_! Do you hear me?!" Nodding to save his skin, Keigo hugs a pillow to shield himself from a possible assault on his frail body as his sister goes on and on about how his mere existence ruined her life and that because of him she never got any boyfriends and so on. She must've ranted five minutes flat before slamming his door shut without another word.

Too shocked to function Keigo just sat there, staring at his door as if it would burst open again and he'd get something rather hard thrown at his head, but before that happened he heard a low voice from somewhere. Realizing he was still talking on his phone when his sister started cursing him out he immediately picked up his cell-phone.

"Eh, yeah… Sorry about that, my sister, she's…" Well, how does one describe her?

"_She's fucking scary, dude."_

"I know!" That must've sounded too much like he was about to cry, so he cleared his throat before continuing. "I best be off before she gets another fit."

"_Aight, man. Hey, don't be a stranger now! Call again if you'd like – seeing as I don't have your number yet – and if not then I'll write when I get home. Bye!"_

After they hung up Keigo sat there, reflecting on the call. He didn't know what to think of the guy, but he enjoyed the attention he was getting.

A lot later, as he was getting ready for bed, he recalled the last part Jaegerjaquez had told him and felt like an idiot once again. Grabbing his phone he opened a text message.

_Hey, it's me, Delicate Raizer._

_So, here's my number, anyway. Goodnight._

He lay down, hoping it wouldn't be too difficult to fall asleep, but he had just settled his head on the pillow when his phone gave off a beeping noise, signalling he had gotten a message. Confused he reached for it and opened the message.

_Finally, thought I'd never get it._

_Sweet dreams, Keigo._

The usage of his name took him a little off guard but then his sister had been screaming it at him so it would've been odd if Jaegerjaquez hadn't caught on to it.

*************************************''

Two days later Jaegerjaquez called Keigo around the same time he had called him the other day, and they spoke about nothing in particular but it was easier this time to talk. After that they didn't talk for a few days, and school would start the day after again. Keigo was just getting ready for bed when his phone started ringing, scaring him half out of his own body. It read 'Jaegerjaquez' on the display, confused he replied.

"_Hey! Thought I'd call instead of typing, seeing as you ain't online at the moment. Did I wake you?"_

"Uhm, no, I was awake." Only half a lie, he hadn't fallen asleep even though he had been close.

"_Cool. I just got home, a little later than I thought I would. Do you have your computer on?"_

"Uhm…" No, he didn't. "Why?"

"_Got somethin' to show ya."_

"Oh, uhm, eh, yes." He shot out of bed, putting his computer on and hoping the beeping sounds of it starting wouldn't reach the other's ears. "Yes, I've got my computer on, I'm just gonna…"

"_No stress, man, it can wait if you're busy."_

"No, it's fine, I-"

"Shut up, Keigo! I'm trying to sleep here!"

"…Sorry!"

"_Let me guess… Your sister?"_

"Yeah." Finally, computer on and ready to use – thank god for quick connection! "So, what did you want to show me?"

"_Oh, just log onto the chat-site."_

Keigo did as Jaegerjaquez instructed and the first thing he can see is a flash-message saying _'one new friend-request' _in big letters. Blinking dumbly he opened his friends-list and in the waiting list he read the very name of the person on the other end of the phone. Not knowing what he's supposed to say he simply accepts the request and adds it under the column of "internet friends" without adding a description of their relation because he wouldn't even know where to start.

"_Finally!"_ Jaegerjaquez announces. _"Now, what I really wanted to show you was a picture. So go to my gallery and I'll tell you which one I mean."_

Feeling more than a little stupid Keigo press the other's username and is immediately redirected to Jaegerjaquez profile, now filled with text and… an image. Stunned at what is presented before him Keigo completely forgets that he is on the phone and just stare at the image of his online/phone-friend.

He's an undoubtedly handsome guy, to say the least. No, handsome isn't the right word for it, but he'd be damned if he'd sit there and stare to find the right word to describe the guy he's been talking with for little over two months. He's got light blue spiky hair and electric-blue eyes, lined with green markings in the outer edge, and as if to be a little bit too eccentric he's got half a jawbone of some animal fastened on his right cheekbone. They guy looks like a model!

"_Oi, d'ya fall asleep?"_

"Uh, s-sorry, I was… reading you-"

"_Yeah, yeah, stop checking out my profile and go to my gallery." _It sounded as if the guy was grinning as he said that, which only caused Keigo to blush deeply for some unknown reason.

He was met with a gallery filled with images in albums, which meant there could be up to fifty pictures in each album. Shit, the guy sure knew how to update his profile! He tried not to focus too much on any particular album since he didn't know which one he was requested to look in yet.

"Which one?" he asked, trying to sound as normal as possible without letting his nervousness show through his voice – why was he nervous anyway?

"_Right, enter the last added album. It's from the trip, but I'm sure you can spot immediately what I wanted to show you."_

Doing as instructed he was met by incredible photos taken on some mountain, showing landscapes beyond imagination. There were also people on some pictures but Keigo chose not to ask who they were, it was none of his business anyway. Rolling down, a few pictures from inside a cabin, some with Jaegerjaquez and some of other guys and a few girls – probably not what the guy wanted to show him. Then… At the bottom of the album he saw it, what it had to be what Jaegerjaquez wanted to show him.

"Gah, you got it before me!" he screamed, completely forgetting about his sister trying to sleep in the next room; though he immediately put a hand over his mouth as soon as realization hit him.

"_Heheh, yup! Haven't played it yet, though. Gonna do that tomorrow. Jealous?"_

"I so am! Aww, now I really want to buy it!" It's the latest game in a series of games they both enjoy playing, and had talked about the new game since the first day they spoke.

"_Well, until you do I will gloat in the fact that I've got it and you don't. I'm gonna let you go to bed now. Oi, don't forget I got evening-class tomorrow! Keep me company online!"_

"As always." That sounded too weird. "Uh, see you." Ugh, that didn't sound good either. "Goodnight." He heard the other laugh genuinely before he ended the call, turning his computer off at the same time.

Shit, his new friend was a model with good taste in games. Huh? Damn, he's thinking too much, and he didn't even get to read the information on his profile! Gah, what if he'd terminate their friendship again so he wouldn't be able to read his information and check his other photos!

… Fuck. It's too late for this. Damn, he's even beginning to curse as much as Jaegerjaquez!

School was just like every other day – boring. They got an unannounced test that completely threw most of them, had to sit through a two hour session listening to a boring old hag talk about whatever it was she was talking about, but all Keigo could think about was how to get his hands on that game as soon as possible. He just knew that while he was being tormented in school, Jaegerjaquez was playing the new game since he didn't have to go to university until that afternoon – it was still not fair.

On his way home Keigo rode by the game-shop – the game hadn't gotten there yet. He asked the shop-employee to keep one in store for him once it _did_ get there and only because he was a regular in the shop was he granted that favor. Beaming with joy he rode on his bike all the way home with a bright smile on his face, feeling happier than he had in a long time.

When he got home and turned on his computer, logging onto the same chat he had done the last two months, he almost immediately got a message from Jaegerjaquez stating how fun the new game was – gloating, indeed. But in-between messages and schoolwork Keigo got incredibly curious as to read Jaegerjaquez' info, seeing as he hadn't terminated their relation on the site. Feeling more than a little stupid for doing it, Keigo entered the other's profile, met by the same image from yesterday, and began reading.

Apparently Jaegerjaquez was 3 years older than him, but that was about the only new information he got out of the text as the rest was about games he played and music and stuff like that. Feeling even more stupid than before he went into the guy's gallery to continue roaming the albums, opening one randomly.

There were many images of the blue-haired guy known as Jaegerjaquez, showing him off as a tall and muscular guy with a shit-eating grin often plastered on his face. He's exactly what Keigo would imagine girls find sexy. He would admit to himself that he felt kind of… a lot… jealous that he didn't have a body like that – not too muscled and not too lean – but he would never say it to anyone else. Even Ichigo should with his right mind feel slightly jealous.

Most images were from parties and therefore had a lot of people on them, though one particular image caught Keigo's interest. Jaegerjaquez was standing outside by a road, looking nothing but bored, and next to him was a sign stating… Karakura Town.

"What?!" No, that's too creepy. The site they've been chatting on doesn't require knowing location of the user so it had never crossed Keigo's mind that they could live in the same town. But maybe he had just been visiting? Yes that had to be the case. He had never seen a guy with blue hair in Karakura, so… But Karakura is bigger than many thinks and Keigo only travel from his home to school and to the local store in the neighborhood, he rarely see much else. Shit… The beeping of his phone stating he'd gotten a text message brought him out of the worst shock.

_Oops, I got myself thrown out of class for not paying attention. Ah, can't be helped. Guess I'll just have to play a little more of that game today then, ey._

Keigo held no doubt in his mind what so ever that Jaegerjaquez hadn't planned on being thrown out of class from the very beginning. Though while his brain was still slightly in a confused state he replied with a question that later made him regret it.

_Where do you live?_

He had just pressed 'send' when he realized what he had written. He was staring at his phone in disbelief as if blaming the phone for not stopping him from sending it when his phone made another beeping noise, startling him so that he threw the cell-phone before he knew what he was doing. He watched in horror as it flew through the air and landed with a re-bounce on top of his unmade bed. Though it took a lot of will power for him to actually go over and read the message he had gotten.

_Heh, that desperate for a game, huh._

_I live in a shit-hole called Karakura. Heard of it?_

Fuck. "Sweat-drop" was an understatement, Keigo felt as if he was _bathing_ in sweat. He reread the message five times before deciding that he had to give an honest answer.

_Know it – I live there._

He didn't know what else to reply and before he knew what was happening his phone was ringing. He didn't receive a message, no… Jaegerjaquez was _calling_ him. Shit. Was this just another set-up? Well, he had to answer, the guy knew he had his phone close by since he only sent a text message only seconds ago.

"Uhm, hey!" he sheepishly replied, not knowing what came over him, he sounded like a nervous little girl standing on a stage to give a speech for the very first time.

"_Yo, you shitting me? You live in Karakura too?" _He sounded truly surprised, maybe he really hadn't known.

"Uh, yeah."

"_Whoa, that's freakin' awesome, dude!"_ Really? Keigo thought it was pretty creepy. _"Oi, I just got a great idea!"_


	2. Chapter 2

_**Authors Note**_

Yeah, as you see I like odd pairings - I'm the first to publish a Keigo/Grimmjow story on this site, so yay!

Besides, there are too little Keigo-fics here, he deserves some attention! And Grimmjow is often pictured as a bad guy, but inside of him I'm sure there lies a little kitten wanting to cuddle. Not saying he's all goody-goody, just... give the guy a break.

So, read and enjoy.

I present to you the **Unpredictable** beginning of a new hot pairing ;) Yes, it may contain yaoi, but not until later.

* * *

**U****npredictable**

_We humans are full of __unpredictable__ emotions_

_that logic alone cannot solve._

"_Oi, I just got a great idea!"_

Oh, sure, it might've been a great idea to _him_, and Keigo constantly dreamt of friends that actually want to be seen in public with him, but he's also extremely paranoid after everything that's happened. Obviously, it's a festival and 90% of Karakura's inhabitants will be there, but that has never stopped Keigo from being mugged before. What if this guy is no better? What if it's all been a set-up to lead to this exact moment? They make him feel safe then cut him in half – he has seen it happens lots of times in movies, it could easily happen to him too. Thinking that way made him wish he hadn't said yes…

He would've stayed home if his sister hadn't forced him out of the house and strictly forbidden him from being home before midnight. So as it was he ended up walking towards the mall where he knew Jaegerjaquez would be until six o'clock, giving the brunette about two hours to find his… friend. Hopefully the evening wouldn't be cold, because he hadn't had time to grab a jacket before his sister threw him out, leaving him dressed in a black t-shirt matching his denim jeans, and a green sleeveless shirt unbuttoned on top of that. At least he grabbed his shoulder bag, that's always something.

It only took him ten minutes to get to the mall and another five minutes to pass through the doors and get into the centre of the whole building; the square was where Jaegerjaquez had said he'd be, the place completely surrounded by restaurants and stores. Standing on the second floor for a better view over the area Keigo soon realized it was more or less impossible to find a single person in all that crowd – he wasn't even sure if he _wanted_ to find the other. But the way he saw it he had three options – first being contact Jaegerjaquez and tell him to meet him somewhere, second is to call Mizuiro instead probably get a "no" about hanging out, and the third is to spend the remaining eight hours alone before he could return home.

It took him another five minutes to make up his mind and finally dig out his phone from the pocket of his jeans and dial the number. While he waited for the other to pick up his hands began to shake, not out of cold but out of nervousness.

"_Yo, ya here now?"_ the voice suddenly interrupted the ringing of his phone, startling Keigo to attention.

"Uhm, hi. Yes, I'm at the square."

"_Great! Get over here, then."_

"Well, I…" Damn, even his tongue is shaking, no kidding. "I would, but I don't know where you are. There are so many people everywhere."

"_Hrm, you're right." _There was a pause, but all the noise of the people around them succeeded to annoy Keigo, he very much disliked crowds and too much noise because he didn't know what he should be listening to and ended up listening to everyone, which only gave him a headache; strange how he always manage to shut off listening in school. _"Alright, I'll do somethin' to get your attention. Let me know when ya see me."_

"Uhm, alright."

Not really sure what he was looking for Keigo scanned the square again, trying to locate the other male – seriously, how hard can it be to spot someone with blue hair? Well, apparently quite difficult. With people moving around and waiving to each other it wasn't at all easy.

"_Do ya see me?"_

"No."

"_Heh, but the waitress saw me!" _Keigo listened asJaegerjaquez excused the waitress again, and he also heard other males taunt him for it. _"You ain't any help, shut up!"_ he cursed at someone, who laughed even harder. _"Hmpf. Well, I guess I'll have to embarrass myself then."_ At that Keigo startled – what would the guy do now? _"Woops! Ouch, almost fell out'a the chair. Oh, Keigo, check the sides, I'm at some… shitty… café. You ready?"_

"Mhm." Brown eyes shifted to the sides, there were many café's and restaurants. "Uhm, maybe if you just tell me which café you're at, I could-"

"_Nah, don't spoil the fun. Look now! See me?"_

Nothing at the first café to the left, nothing at the second – hopefully it wouldn't be at the places located beneath where Keigo was standing. First on the left… Something was beginning to happen. No, that was just some kids playing. Second café… someone in a black hoody with the hood up was standing on a table, waiving his hands.

"Uhm… Are you standing on a table?"

"_Yep!" _The guy was much more cheerful than he should've been – he sure was embarrassing himself, a lot of people scolded him around the place for such a behaviour, which he obviously ignored. _"Find your way here, we'll wait."_

Ending the call he now only dreaded the meeting itself. Especially meeting the friends…

Making his way to the café was a lot easier said than done. People stood cramped up together everywhere, making it hard for him to get through. Every now and then he got stuck and had to find a different path, and a few times he almost got swooped away by a stream of people walking into a different direction. But soon enough he could see the correct café; he purposefully stopped a few feet away to get a look at the people he was about the meet, wanting to be somewhat prepared.

Jaegerjaquez had the same shit-eating grin as he did on most pictures, flashing a row of perfectly white teeth. His attentive electric-blue eyes shifted between his friends, green markings beneath them in some pattern making his eyes look predatory. Some of his blue hair hung out from under the hoody and the jawbone attached to his cheek was quite visible.

Next to him sat a thin male with long blonde hair and brown eyes, and the guy next to this person had pink shoulder-long hair and amber eyes behind greyish glasses – both of them had the same lopsided small smile and the same facial expression.

On the opposite side of the table sat a thin male with long black hair, some covering his left eye, his only visible eye was dark and slanted, and he had his thin lips drawn into a huge smile, revealing his teeth – he looks really creepy. The last one at the table was slim with dirty-blonde hair and large hazel eyes, a turquoise marking on his right cheek – all in all he looked like a calm person, or maybe even antisocial.

Keigo definitely _doesn't_ fit in there, even less so than he fits with Ichigo and the rest of that crew. He knew it was a mistake to come.

"Oi, Keigo!"

Caught! Electric-blue eyes met his brown ones; recognition obvious and that grin seemed to grow even wider. There was no turning back now. Jaegerjaquez waived at him to come closer, signalling for the free seat next to the black-haired freaky-looking guy and opposite of the blue-haired. Feeling like a prey willingly walking into an ambush Keigo climbed over the iron-bars that separated the café from the rest of the square, walking in-between tables and trying to avoid bumping into people and tables on his way. Jaegerjaquez arose as soon as Keigo got close, standing a head taller than the brunette, extending his hand to shake. Hesitantly, and embarrassed, Keigo accepted the handshake, finding himself swallowed by a larger hand, warm and firm yet soft to the touch.

"Finally," Jaegerjaquez grinned. "Nice to meet ya in person."

"Yeah, uhm… N-nice to meet you… too." His hand felt awkwardly cold when the other let go of his.

"Sit down, man, I'll introduce ya to the guys. Want a coffee or something?"

"N-no, I'm fine, thanks." Sitting down next to the scary guy he noticed how quiet the people around the table had gotten, most eyes fixed upon him, making him feel very uneasy – prey, yup.

"Right." Jaegerjaquez reclaimed his seat, now pointing at the guy with long blonde hair. "This' Ilforte, an' next to 'im's his lil' bro, Szayel." Both males nodded in greeting. Next, the blue-haired pointed at the other blonde with the weird marking on his cheek. "He's Tesla."

"How do you do." The male politely extended his hand towards Keigo, ignoring the offended huff from the black-haired, whom was pushed back into his chair to allow room for Tesla's friendly advance.

"An' next to ya's Nnoitra." The male whose name was mentioned sniggered and patted Keigo's head as if he were a dog. "Don' scare off my friend, bastard!" Jaegerjaquez scolded Nnoitra. "Guys, this is Keigo."

"Uhm, hi," Keigo timidly offered, feeling very out of place, like a dirty dish serving uncooked eggs with ketchup – indeed, _disgusting_.

"I pity ya," Nnoitra grinned at Keigo. "Once ya're stuck in Grimmy's claws ya're scarred for life."

"Shut up, spoon-head!"

Keigo watched, petrified, as Jaegerjaquez and Nnoitra seemed to have a glaring-contest across the table, every now and then spitting foul words at each other. But most of all, Keigo wondered who this 'Grimmy' was, and why did he have his claws on Keigo?

"So," the male with pink hair and glasses interrupted what could've become a nasty fight, his amber eyes steady on the newest addition to the table. "How do you know _'Mr. Blue-and-Mighty'_ over there?" He pointed a finger at Jaegerjaquez, who had resumed drinking his coffee.

Obviously Jaegerjaquez left the explaining to Keigo, as he completely ignored the question, and everything but his coffee to be exact, so the brunette took a deep breath and prepared to actually talk with all of these strangers.

"Well, we actually started writing on an online chat." He wasn't being stared at anymore, which he was grateful for, though the scrutinizing eyes of Szayel were making him feel a bit uneasy.

"Really? At which site?"

It was a lot easier to talk with them than Keigo had imagined. None of them said anything impolite and he wasn't ignored. He actually felt… accepted. Though he wouldn't get his hoped up for any of this to last, tomorrow this would all be over and he may not see them again. But he would certainly enjoy this while it lasted.

_**KEIGO's p.o.v.**_

"Le's go eat, I'm hungry!"

Come to think of it, I'm hungry too. Starving, actually. What dose guys like them eat? To me they look like they could find a road-kill somewhere and eat it raw (oh my god, what if I'm right and they force me to eat it too!).

"Yes, I vote for that restaurant over there." Szayel inclined his head towards a restaurant across the square. "I have heard they make delicious barbeque."

"Right, le's go there, then!"

I watched Jaegerjaquez stand and step aside to let the two brothers out. Barbeque is good, I suppose it's acceptable – better than road-kill anyway! Maybe-

"Dude." A bony finger stabbed my upper arm, scaring a less than manly yelp from my lips – I think I was close to dying right then. I immediately shifted in my chair, nearly knocking into the face of a very unimpressed Nnoitra – if the guy had been green he'd not only look like a scary E.T. but he'd also be able to play the Grinch (without needing make-up or special effects). "Move, or I'll move ya."

If I had been pale before then I must look like a snowman right now. Luckily I wasn't frozen like one and therefore avoided being manhandled by the Grinch – I more or less fell out of my chair, but was saved by strong arms keeping me in a standing position.

"Don't let the Giant Spoon scare ya," Jaegerjaquez spoke right next to my ear, a little too close for comfort, but I was too scared to ask him to back off a bit.

I watched Nnoitra push my chair underneath the table, realizing that he couldn't possibly have gotten up if I hadn't moved, because the table behind us were occupied, not leaving much space to move between seats. The scary Grinch-male shifted, sitting on his chair with legs to the side, then he arose. Giant… Jaegerjaquez had called him that and no, it wasn't an exaggeration. The guy is _huge!_ I felt like one of those Lilliputs facing Gulliver, stumbling backwards in shock and backed into Jaegerjaquez' chest.

"Come on," Jaegerjaquez grinned and pulled me along.

We followed the two brothers out of the café, and I was very more than a little weary about having Nnoitra behind me – he seems to be the least stable of these guys. But all in all, I felt like one of the guys, walking with them as if it was natural, like I had done it thousand of times before. For once I actually felt… like I belonged.

* * *

_**///**__**Authors Note**__**:: **__Well, this is my first published story, I apologize for misspellings or grammar-errors._

_Do you think I should continue update this story? Any suggestions on how this shall progress?_

_Do you like the odd pairing? ;)_

_This chapter is parted in two due to me getting a job that makes it harder to finish chapters on time._

_Next update will be in a few weeks._

_Review plz_

Cheers ^^


	3. Chapter 3

**Hello!!**

Thank you all for your reviews, favs and suggestions, it is very much appreciated! :D Please continue ^^

As you know it's a crack-fic, unpredictable pairings and unpredictable situations (hence the title of the fic). I am planning on bringing forth more unpredictable pairings into the mix (Keigo/Grimm still lead-roles), but I don't mind some suggestions.

So… Who would you like to see **Nnoitra** paired with? Who would you prefer to see **Harribel** with? PM me in person and let me know your suggestions for this ^^

Thanks again for reading, and I hope this second half of the previous chapter is to your liking.

* * *

**UNPREDICTABLE**

_**The Festival**_

_Life is too unpredictable to live by a schedule._

During the barbeque Keigo learned that Jaegerjaquez, Nnoitra, Tesla and Ilforte had gone to the same high school together in a neighboring city to Karakura. He also learned that Nnoitra had been lazy with schoolwork and therefore had to re-do his final year, placing him in the same class as Szayel.

Now, you might wonder why six guys seemingly uninterested in anything related to school is discussing this certain topic – well, blame Szayel for asking Keigo how old he is, which then lead to which school he went to, which of course lead to Keigo counter-asking the same questions. Let's just say that in lack of better conversations, school is always an option to use as an ice-breaker (or to create a barrier, as in the case of Nnoitra after it was blown in his face that he wasn't as smart as the rest). Mind you, it has nothing to do with how stupid he is, simply on his priorities and how much effort he put up (or in this case: _didn't_). Yet, he's impressed by Keigo's personal goal to never make it into the top 50 students. Nnoitra claimed he once had a similar goal; the more that got higher grades than him, the more he would be able to surpass and beat down to earth and into the real world.

"So what's the plan for the rest of the night?" Jaegerjaquez asked after swallowing his last bite of food. "Fireworks at 22:00 on the hill overlooking the lake, but what do we do until then?"

"Check the stores?" Szayel suggested.

"No fuckin' way!"

"They are open till 21:00," Tesla filled in. "I want to go through the mall. Prices are lower today."

"Boring!" If anything, Jaegerjaquez wasn't shy to share his opinion no matter the topic.

"The Arcade is open," Keigo beamed quite enthusiastically – he loves games, alright!

"Ooh, I'd go for that!" The blue-haired male grinned, laying an arm over Keigo's shoulders.

"Me too," Ilforte quickly addressed. "We can split up and meet at the hill a quarter to ten. How does that sound, bro?"

"Fine by me, as long as I don't have to go to the Arcade."

It was agreed that they would split up, Nnoitra choosing to go to the Arcade with the comment that "stores and shopping is a woman's doing", earning a slap on the arm from Szayel and a short huff from Tesla.

Making their way to the Arcade, Keigo thought he spotted Sado (also known as Chad), towering above most with his exceptional height (much like Nnoitra, but the Grinch-look-alike is surprisingly even taller than Chad). Needless to say but if Chad is as the Festival then Ichigo and his friends are most likely there aswell. Keigo hoped he would be able to avoid bumping into them, enjoying himself far too much to be beaten down on the ground – he too wants to fly among the clouds every now and then without getting high on forbidden resources such as drugs or booze.

At once point, though, in his effort to avoid any of his classmates, he got separated from Jaegerjaquez. The first thought that went through his mind was that he was once again alone, dumped like the trash he knows that he is, the dream of being accepted crumbled before him only moments after he reached for it. They left him.

He contemplated going back home, risking a beating from his sister for ignoring her order to stay out until midnight. He also contemplated searching for Chad (the tall male might be a tad bit stiff and too silent for Keigo's liking, but he isn't unfriendly and too openly ignoring him). However, the moment that thought appeared, it disappeared again, just as swiftly. No, tonight he would go to the Arcade whether it was with Jaegerjaquez or not. But first he needed to find directions so that he didn't end up passing it. He climbed on top of a rock rounding a light-post, but before he spotted to sign of the Arcade he saw none other than the face of the human Grinch, standing somewhere beside the current of people walking around on the streets. Figuring he might aswell aim for the tall guy's location, Keigo started to cross the street and break the current of people, ignoring the curses he received here and there, until he almost bumped into the much taller man. Nnoitra grinned down at him unpleasantly, flashing a row of even, white teeth (thank god they're not sharp and pointy!). Keigo also noticed that neither Jaegerjaquez nor Ilforte was anywhere around them – maybe Nnoitra changed his mind about going to the Arcade after all.

"Heh, there ya are," Nnoitra sniggered. "Ya know, Grimmy suggested we'd buy ya a leash so ya wouldn't run away from us."

There it was again – '_Grimmy'_. Keigo was seriously beginning to think that Nnoitra has a personality disorder and it was freaking him out. Hopefully this _'other person'_ isn't named after its personality…

"I-I-I, uhm, I lost you in the crowd," Keigo sheepishly admitted, scratching the back of his head.

"Really, huh?" The tall man towered over Keigo. "How do ya loose sight of a guy with blue hair, a guy with long blonde hair and someone as eccentric as me?" He appeared to be giving his own questions some thought, tapping a long bony finger on his chin. "Hrm… Nope, I just don't see the probability of that concept." Though, he shrugged it off as nothing and placed his bony hand on Keigo's shoulder, squeezing needlessly hard. "Guess I will accompany you to the Arcade, then. Let's go before Grimmy gets edgy."

Being lead by Nnoitra was the last thing Keigo had in mind, but he got along with it simply because the tall man refused to acknowledge his attempts to shake the hand off of his shoulder. He has to admit that he got to the Arcade a lot faster in the company of Nnoitra than he would have if he went on his own – the "Grinch" was tall and slim, however he wasn't against pushing people out of his way, though most moved out of his way on their own accord, hence giving Nnoitra and Keigo a straight stroll to the Arcade without any halts or sidetracks.

Standing in line outside the Arcade, waiting for people to get inside, Keigo took a closer look at his tall companion. He truly had a weird style. Brown army boots aswell as brown pants that were tight around his calves and baggy over his thighs, low on his waist. Then he wore a zip-up camouflaged hoody in black, green and brown fields. It made him look rather… intimidating, somehow. Around his neck hung an accessory in the form of two thin moons, back to back; Keigo wondered what they symbolize but he had a hunch that if he asked Nnoitra would snarl at his lack of knowledge.

"You're the one who called Jaegerjaquez when we were on the trip?" Nnoitra steadied his dark eyes on the brunette.

He had almost shaken his head 'no', but then he remembered that he did call Jaegerjaquez when he was away, and nodded instead. It felt like an interrogation all of a sudden, what with the critical eyes directed at him and the serious tone to the words uttered to him. He did not want to be on bad terms with Nnoitra, a situation like that could only end up bad. But why would he be asking something that happened quite a while back?

"He said you play the same games he does," Nnoitra continued, sensing Keigo's confusion. "Is that your only reason for… keeping contact?"

For a moment Keigo felt like he was accused of a serious crime. Was it a crime to want friendship with someone with similar interests? He couldn't grasp what Nnoitra was implying (if he was implying anything at all, one couldn't be sure).

"W-what else would-"

"Just messing with ya." Nnoitra cut him off by placing his hand on top of Keigo's head and ruffling up the brown hair, causing the younger male to blink baffled by the words exchanged. "Loosen up, dude. Grimmy doesn't particularly like stiff dudes." He seemed to stop for a second, thinking over his own words before chuckling at himself. "Well, that detail could be further discussed." He grinned at Keigo's shocked expression, mouth agape and eyes large as plates. "Bah, don't freak. Grimmy only bites if you ask." He winked and gripped the stunned male's shoulder again, leading him forward, cutting the line (Keigo was even more surprised that no one commented on his behaviour or tried to stop them). "Lets just go in, I'm tired of this waiting."

Keigo was grateful that Nnoitra bothered to drag him along; whenever _he_ attempted to cut a line he was scolded and banned from entrance. Today must be his lucky day. But… those comments about Nnoitra's alternative ego were really getting to him.

"Ah, ya found him!" Jaegerjaquez and the blonde male suddenly appeared before Nnoitra and Keigo, grinning. "Great! Lets find some fun game!"

Playing at the Arcade with three other people was… different, to say the least. Keigo was used to playing against the computers, or simply choose a single-player game, but he had to admit that this was much more fun. However, Jaegerjaquez was a poor loser, you could say (and it would still be an understatement) – Keigo half expected him to go sulk in a corner or perhaps bring out a big bazooka and shoot whoever accidentally won over him. Luckily he was a good gamer and didn't lose too many times.

Keigo himself was rather good too, of course (he spent all spare time in front of his computer or game-machines, after all), but whenever he caught a phrase involving a certain name he froze up and ultimately lost the game. Why does Nnoitra keep talking about _'Grimmy'_ as if he was in the room and playing with them?! And no, Keigo did not want to be ass-wiped by this Grimmy! Of course, he didn't know many people with personality disorders so he didn't quite know how to deal with this, but for every times the name was mentioned he got more and more edgy. Why is he the only one who's uncomfortable by this? Right, Jaegerjaquez and Ilforte must be too used to it to let it bother them. But it bothered Keigo to the brim of madness!

"Whoa, bros! It's time to get going." Ilforte checked his wristwatch closer. "We've got fifteen minutes to get to the hill."

"Hey, lets scram!" Jaegerjaquez logged off the game they had been playing and began walking out of the Arcade, closely followed by Ilforte. "Thirty minutes to show-time, right? We'll make it."

Nnoitra seemed to have taken it upon himself to be that aforementioned leash keeping Keigo from running away from them, as he patiently waited for the younger male to log off and follow them. The brunette reminded himself that he was not being stalked or kept under supervision; the taller man was simply being polite. Right? Somehow he couldn't quite see the polite streak in the Grinch, or perhaps it was hidden beneath layers and layers of rudeness, cruelty, witty comments and a humor no one but the guy himself could understand – not to mention the creepy smile and the personality disorder. But, the guy was Jaegerjaquez' friend – if Keigo wanted a shot at being friends with the blue-haired male then he would have to get over his uneasiness with Nnoitra. Surely he could manage that! He only just met them, after all, he only have to get used to it.

However, the moment they got out of the Arcade, Jaegerjaquez replaced Nnoitra. At first Keigo was taken aback by the strong arm slung over his shoulders and it wasn't easy to walk in sync with someone else when they practically throw themselves over you, but he willed himself to get over the unease and set up a rhythm both of them could keep; Jaegerjaquez was his friend after all, right? It's not that Jaegerjaquez was being clingy – he was just _closer_ rather than clingy. And it was funny how Keigo found it uneasy when he himself was clinging to his friends back in school. Well, _used to_, anyway. It had always been obvious that Keigo's 'clinginess' was bothering them, but that hadn't stopped him; it was just his way of getting attention. Now, though… Now he didn't care. Someone else was finally holding onto him now, and he liked that change (even if it wasn't a hot babe – muscular, sexy guys wasn't completely bad). Ehum, yeah... He refused to admit what he had just thought and erased it before it affected the colour of his face.

He tried to focus on what the three guys walking along with him was talking about and even put in some of his own thoughts to the conversation. He wasn't ignored, not left behind or on the side as a bystander; he was accepted. He didn't fit in with them at all, but it felt so natural. Could he dare to hope for this to not end with the strike of midnight?

Right on time everyone met at the hill overlooking the river and the park, Tesla and Szayel showing everyone what they had bought at the mall. It was mostly practical items, such as a digital clock, a new keyboard to a computer and stuff like that, but also a few clothes had been purchased. They were all leaning over the railings when the night-sky lit up by the many colours of fireworks, silence falling between them while the fireworks made noise over the entire Karakura Town. Strange how empty these hills were when one had such a perfect view from there; Keigo would have to remember to come back there next time.

He stood quite contently between Jaegerjaquez and Nnoitra, smiling for himself and wishing this moment could last forever. Even if it would be boring to simply stand there for an eternity, watching fireworks, he would die a happy man simply because he was not alone.

A flash to his right brought him quite abruptly out of his futile dreams, and he realized that Jaegerjaquez too had turned his head in confusion. What had happened? Another flash blinded them and a groan came from Nnoitra, then a giggle from someone else and Jaegerjaquez grinned with an evil chuckle.

"You lot looked so happy, now it'll be forever on a piece of paper."

It all added up now. A flash from a camera, a peace of paper making a fleeting moment immortal for as long as the paper remains. Keigo had been caught on a picture, and the pink-haired guy was to blame.

"I'm gonna make ya _eat_ that piece of paper, dude," threatened Nnoitra, who was still trying to rub his visible eye back to normal; being blinded would do that to you.

"Picture-time!" screamed the blue-haired male, startling Keigo. "Come on, guys! Pose for the camera!"

Keigo didn't know what was happening but as soon as there was more flashes from that camera he realised that he was stuck on several pieces of papers and in a firm hold by Jaegerjaquez, whom refused to let go of his shoulders. All he could do was stand there and try not to look too stupid as the flashes kept on invading his eyes.

"Oi, give me the camera," Jaegerjaquez demanded, leaving Keigo against the railing and pushing the pink-haired male to the direction of the other guys. "Let me snap a few."

Now standing between the Grinch and Ilforte, Keigo wondered if it was really okay for him to remain there. Without Jaegerjaquez in the centre, he had no ties to the others. In other words, wasn't he invading on private grounds?

"Yo," sounded a gruff voice sounded close to his ear. Nnoitra was leaning down with a wide grin, causing Keigo to freeze on the spot. "Grimmy's got his paws on you now. You can feel it, can't you? Oh yeah, Grimmy's got you good."

"Gah!" Admittedly, jumping backwards against a railing was _not_ among the best of moves Keigo had done in his life, but it sounded very much like Nnoitra was either threatening his life or coming on to him; both options were worth getting away from, but neither was enough to drive him to jump off a cliff. Luckily Ilforte was there to grab onto his flailing arms before he took a dive to an almost certain death.

"Whoa, bro, take it easy!"

"Dude, what got your panties in a twist?"

"What's going on?!"

Too shocked, too scared, too much paranoia, Keigo clings to Ilforte's outstretched arm, hiding partly behind the blonde, before speaking with a loud and shaky voice.

"I-I don't want to have Grimmy's paws or claws or _teeth_ on me!" he began, swallowing thickly. The atmosphere got very tense all of a sudden, and confusion was obvious on everyone's faces. Well, except for Nnoitra's – he found this whole situation very amusing. "I don't want to cough up fur balls! And I don't want a leash!"

"What've you been telling him, Spoon-head?" Jaegerjaquez inquired, glaring at his tall friend.

"Nothin' much, dude, just having a little fun."

"Che, I bet! Oi, Keigo. Come here."

A little reluctantly Keigo followed Jaegerjaquez a few feet to the side while the others resumed their positions against the railings to watch the fireworks. He was embarrassed, had made a complete fool of himself, and now Jaegerjaquez would tell him _'sorry, but you don't fit in here'_. He couldn't bear to meet the other's eyes so he kept them directed at the ground.

"Hey, whatever the giant idiot told you, don't believe everything he's said." Jaegerjaquez voice was slightly above a whisper. "He likes to stir things up."

He wanted to believe that. Truly, he did. But he couldn't cope to spent time with a psychopath with a personality disorder, whom seemed to want to kill him one moment and make out with him the next; it was just too risky. What he couldn't grasp was why Jaegerjaquez looked so down, as if he was the victim here. For some reason Keigo didn't want him to think that anything was Jaegerjaquez' fault.

"Y-you could've warned me," he started, seeing how confused Jaegerjaquez was. "You could've said he has a personality disorder."

"Personality dis-… What?"

"I mean, he's been talking about _'Grimmy'_ this and _'Grimmy'_ that, making me think he's an insane fugitive from an asylum!"

"I suppose he must've forgotten to take his medicine," Jaegerjaquez suddenly grinned.

"Honestly, I don't want his other half to get its claws on me! I'm too young to die!" He was pleading, ironically. "He scares me!"

"Heh, he scares everyone." Jaegerjaquez shrugged it off as if there was nothing to it, but it only further confused Keigo. The brunette was thinking that lunatics surrounded him when the blue-haired male extended his hand for Keigo to shake it, a smug smile on his lips. Confused Keigo took the offered appendix, staring into a pair of electric-blue eyes. "Guess I forgot to properly introduce myself," he started, holding Keigo's hand firmly. "Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez."

What does his name have to do with Nnoitra's personality disorder and Keigo making a fool out of himself? Seriously, Keigo was about ready to bolt when he repeated the name in his head. _'Grimmjow…'_ Damn, it had _everything_ to do with Nnoitra's presumed personality disorder and Keigo making a fool of himself.

"Oh…" With his free hand he sheepishly scratched the back of his head, smiling shyly and apologetically. "I feel so stupid."

"Don't." But he burst out laughing immediately after he said that. "Oh, man! This was fuckin' hilarious!"

Well, it could've been funny – if Keigo hadn't almost taken a suicide-dive because of a stupid misunderstanding, that is. But seeing as nothing bad happened he could loosen up and laugh a little too (he was used to be the laughing-object anyway). However, laughing at himself this time didn't make him feel as hollow inside as it usually did. He was actually enjoying himself, despite being the victim of humiliation again.

* * *

**_Authors Note::_**

_Thank you all again for reading, I hope it was to your liking despite the crappy short ending._

_And sorry for possible misspellings and grammar-errors._

_Would you prefer longer chapters? Or perhaps shorter. Let me know._

_Don't forget to Review__;)_

_And again, who would your dream-crack-pairing be with **Nnoitra** and **Harribel**? I'm open for any suggestion :)  
_

**Cheers!**


	4. Chapter 4

**HELLO!**

_Thank you all again for reading, reviewing and mailing me with ideas and suggestions ^^ Please continue!_

_I was planning on making this chapter a little longer, but my motivation failed me :/ So to not loose too many readers I will post this update and continue writing. It may be a few weeks to next update, please bear with me. Perhaps a Christmas-special, who knows._

_Soon there will be a new pairing introduced to this story; I hope it will not disappoint you! (it sure didn't disappoint me) ;)_

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**UNPREDICTABLE**

_Everybody has to be reminded that there's another way to be._

_Another more mysterious, __**unpredictable**__ way to be_

_that's not necessarily based upon contrivances._

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It was Monday again. Returning to school after the Festival was like taking a huge step back to the Cretaceous, but none the less was it one of those evil necessities that seemed to rule Keigo's life. He felt even lousier this morning than many others – he had actually enjoyed himself that weekend. Why would that make him feel lousy, you might wonder. Well, it would hurt even more now when the days would return to normal, bit by bit, without Jaegerjaquez to chat with. Because let's face it – Keigo could never hope for anything more than what's already been. It was over. The end. He was alone again. He has rarely been this depressed. So pathetic, being so desperate for friendship. It had been too easy to spend time with those guys, it was too good to be a lasting deal; Keigo was too different from them. He was doomed to be a lonely, miserable geek.

That day he sat in silence, listening to everyone else talk about the Festival, bragging and gossiping. Keigo wanted to tell someone about _his_ weekend too, but apparently he still had an invisibility-cloak on; not even the teachers saw him today. If he showed up with a gun in hand, threatening to shoot everyone, he'd still be ignored – he had a bigger chance of getting attention if he was a poltergeist terrorising the girls' bathroom.

He was done debating on why everything was so unfair, and had actually accepted his fate to be alone until the day he died, when suddenly his phone vibrated in his pocket. There could only be one person texting him at this time, and even that was a surprise as he expected that person to be ignoring him from now on, and said person was usually still asleep. Mostly out of habit Keigo made sure the teacher wasn't looking his way (it would be his normal luck if the teacher turned to look at him at that exact moment) before picking up his phone, clicking it open to read; 'message received from Jaegerjaquez', as expected.

_G'mornin', or day (just woke up!) Whaz up?_

_You didn't come online yesterday, is something wrong?_

_Oh, I woke up with this cool idea. Here goes…_

_You, and me, __that__ game, at either yours, or mine, this Friday._

_What you say?_

'…_He still wants to see me?'_ Keigo thought, perplexed. Why would a guy like _Jaegerjaquez_ want anything to do with a loser like _Keigo_? It makes no sense, no sense at all! But then… he _did_ mention the game, and Keigo still hadn't gotten his hands on it yet (Karakura's game-shop is _so_ out of date!). Though, Keigo wasn't comfortable with going home to an almost-complete stranger (what if he's some crazy serial killer just waiting to lock him up in his basement!) and he wasn't prepared to invite anyone home yet (his family might seem normal, but that's only on the surface). _'If I had a shot at getting a new friend before, this will ruin any chances of that for sure.'_ Why couldn't anything ever be easy?!

…It had all seemed so easy during the Festival. Although Keigo had made a fool of himself he had survived, and he hadn't arrived home until after midnight like his sister had ordered him. The only thing that went wrong (besides the obvious) was the fact that he had forgotten to grab his jacket, because it got very chilly later that evening. Though even that worked out fine …

* * *

_**:::::****FLASHBACK****:::::**_

_"Are you okay?" Worried electric-blue eyes shifted over Keigo's shaking body then steadied in a lock with brown eyes._

_"__Y-yes, I-I'm f-f-f-fine!" Keigo defended, trying to stop shaking but the rattling of his teeth gave him away – he felt like he was naked inside a freezer!_

_The look he received from the taller male spoke volumes – he did not believe a single word coming from the brunette at that time. Rather unimpressed he held up two fingers before Keigo's eyes, making sure he had his full attention. Keigo, being both confused and shaking to the bones (literally) tried his very best to pay attention._

_"__One – you can ask me politely and I might borrow you my jacket." He grinned evilly at that before taking down one of his fingers and holding his index finger before Keigo. "Two – you can cuddle up with me and I'll share my body-heat. What's it gonna be?"_

_Swallowing thickly, staring with wide eyes, Keigo almost forgot that he was freezing and supposed to be shaking. Completely at a loss for words, or rational thinking, he just stood there, mouth agape, staring as if he saw his name listed as number 1 on that blasted score-list in school. Jaegerjaquez waited for an answer, grinning crookedly, very amused and satisfied with his achievements._

_It's not that Keigo was contemplating cuddling with the guy; it's just that he was utterly shocked. If anyone else had given him those two options before then the answer would've been easy (just as easy as it was inside his head, he just couldn't get the words out). He would've taken that suicide-dive off the cliff if anyone had offered him that!_

_All of a sudden there were hands on his shoulders and he realized that Jaegerjaquez wasn't standing in front of him anymore (when had he moved?!). Dread washed all over him and his heart began to beat hard against his ribcage when those warm hands fell heavy on him. Why? Why was this happening to him?! He wanted to scream, to run away, prayed that he was being mugged instead of this, but-_

_"There ya go."_

_The hands left him but some of the pressure was still present, confusing Keigo (seriously, how confused could one person get in just a few hours?). Swiftly turning on his heels he stood face to face with the blue-haired male, a smirk on his full lips and an amused glint in his eyes. Something was lacking, though, and that's when Keigo realized that the pressure currently on his shoulders were in fact the white leather-jacket the taller male had worn. He felt like such a fool._

_"Uhm, thanks." The jacket was warm, heated by Jaegerjaquez own body heat. The blue-haired male simply shrugged and began walking towards his friends. "W-what about you?" Keigo heard himself ask, with as little worry in his voice as possible. The taller guy looked over his shoulder, flashing a wide grin, showing off his white teeth._

_"If I start to get cold I'll just glomp ya."_

_**:::::****END FLASHBACK****:::::**_

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Well, it worked out better than Keigo first thought it would. What would he have done if Jaegerjaquez had settled with option two instead?! Luckily he hadn't and Keigo didn't need to find out the answer to that question. However, there was still one tiny question he had yet to reply to. How should he put it? Simply reply with a 'sorry, no can do' without stating the reason? Or should he tell him the whole story, that he didn't quite trust him and didn't want to get too involved with something that would leave him open to wound? Like everything else, even typing a simple reply was too difficult for Keigo. He chose to think it over properly before answering; that would be the right thing to do.

By lunchtime he still hadn't written Jaegerjaquez back, still mulling his options over, trying to get a good bulletproof reason as to why he was unable to see the blue-haired male that Friday, without making it into a complete lie. He didn't like lies; having been lied to so many times he knew it hurt more than the truth ever did.

He was eating alone in the classroom again, wondering what Mizuiro and the others were talking about out on the roof, and if they even noticed he wasn't among them. How could they not notice? He was the annoying clown that kept pestering them, wasn't he? They should be aware when the annoyance wasn't there to… well, annoy them. Or maybe they took this opportunity to laugh at him, to make fun of him while he wasn't around to hear it, unable to defend himself. Whatever they were doing, all Keigo wanted was to be a part of it again.

"Oh, Asano-san…"

Startled by the intrusion of his comfortable silence, he shifted in his seat to see the slightly shocked face of Orihime, looking at him as if she hadn't seen him for ages. The usually perceptive girl could at times be very neglectful of her surroundings, and this was one of those moments. At first he smiled, glad to finally be noticed by someone, but then the world came crashing down on him again when Orihime opened that mouth of hers.

"Have you been sick? Out of the country, perhaps? I haven't seen you around for so long, you always used to hang around Ichigo wherever he was!"

Forcing the smile to remain on his face, he felt his heart sink even further into that hollow pit in his chest that seemed to grow larger and more profound for every morning he woke up. So the only reason Orihime noticed him was because they were the only ones in the classroom at that moment. Seriously, what wrong had he done to the world to deserve this?

"Orihime-chan, I've-"

"Oops, I forgot!" she suddenly exclaimed, rushing into the classroom, to her seat, to grab her lunch-pack. She only stopped momentarily to flash a naïve smile in Keigo's direction. "I forgot my lunch in here, now everyone is waiting for me! I must go!"

And once more Keigo found himself alone. How could he have been stupid enough to think that Orihime would actually stay and listen to him? Because he had thought that she was a caring person. Though he forgot a very important detail – he is not Ichigo. It's funny how she used to be so timid and scared around Ichigo, and now she's obviously in love with him and he is too stupid to realise it (he has Rukia, after all). Couldn't she, for just one day, forget about Ichigo and care about someone else? Like Keigo, for instance? No, of course she couldn't. That thought was as hilarious as the day he was born.

Another vibration from his phone brought him out of his thoughts. It was from his sister. What mighty force could have possibly made her contact Keigo, and what could be the reason? Alarmed he opened the message and read:

_Loser! Hey, mom and dad are going away on a business trip,_

_so I will be spending this week at my boyfriend's._

_If you so much as breathe anything about this_

_I'm gonna have your head on a stick!_

Blinking stupidly at the display of those words written by his own sister, he couldn't quite comprehend the tenderness to her words. Wait… She has a boyfriend?! Poor bastard! Either way, with their parents out of the house, and Mizuho at her boyfriend's, Keigo would have the apartment all to himself – for a whole week!

"Yay!" Admittedly, running around in an empty classroom was kind of a 1st Grade thing to do, but who cares. Although… "…What am I gonna do for an entire week all by myself?" He stopped running, taking his chin between his thumb and index finger and humming to himself in thought. "I suppose I still have to go to school. And I do have to eat." He circled his table twice before grinning like a maniac. "But I can stay up for as long as I like – I can sleep in class anyway! And I can- Gah!"

His poor cell phone took a flight through the air, then a dive into the trashcan next to the teacher's table, all the while playing a tune from 'The Swan Princess', called 'No Fear'. Keigo's large brown eyes followed the device with a shocked expression (mostly due to his own behaviour) and feared for his small oval friend's health as it started to descend. It vibrated and sang it's hymn on the bottom of the trashcan even as Keigo ran forward to dig it up from beneath crumpled up sheaths of paper – it was still ringing by the time he saved it from its cruel fate.

"H-h-hello?"

_"Are you avoiding me?"_ demanded a familiar voice from the other end of the line.

"W-what?!"

_"I haven't heard from you since the Festival. Did we freak you out so bad or do you just not wish to speak with me?"_ As straight forward as ever.

Though the straightforwardness had a strong effect on the brunette, whom had been standing up until that moment – his bum met the hard floor as he crashed down in both shock and revelation. He had been ignoring Jaegerjaquez, he realised. He had been treating him the exact same way that Keigo himself hated to be treated; he had never felt so ashamed in his entire life!

"I… I'm sorry! I thought that…" He frowned at his own stupidity. "I thought you didn't want to speak to me again," he admitted in a whisper.

_"Yeah? Even though I've been texting ya, ya still though I was the one ignoring you?"_ The hurt was obvious – Keigo expected nothing less. Though somewhere behind the shame he guiltily felt a warm sensation spreading inside him, glad that Jaegerjaquez was hurt enough by Keigo's neglect to call and demand an explanation._ "That's one fucked up way to think, mate."_

"Yeah. Sorry." Though a small smile crept onto his lips.

_"Ah, what the hell, I suppose I can forgive ya. If – and believe me, this is a big if! – IF you agree to meet me for a game this Friday."_

Inwardly sighing, Keigo should've known something like that was going to happen. He should just tell him, get it over with and get on with his life; surely that would be the easiest way to deal with this. But truth is that the newfound happiness he found in this situation was causing him to hesitate. How could he tell someone that showed that he cared enough to call instead of just accept and ignore, how could he tell him that he didn't yet trust him? He couldn't go home to Jaegerjaquez without fearing he could get murdered by his newfound "friend". If only his parents weren't… Wait a minute… His parents!

"Ah, heheh… Sure!" His parents were away this week! He assumed that included the weekend, so maybe…

_"Great! You are forgiven for ignoring me, then. My place or yours?"_

"My place." A short pause fell, wherein Keigo sent a prayer to the Higher Powers that his parents wouldn't be back on Friday.

_"What time do you finish school on Friday?"_

"Uhm… Around three in the afternoon. Why?"

_"Well, if you're free, then I can get to your place shortly after that. I don't have evening-classes on Fridays, after all."_

"Oh! Yeah, sure! That would be great. I can cook for us, if you like!"

_"Sure. Just don't ask me to help, coz I'm a disaster when it comes to the kitchen. I swear, everything in my kitchen is childproof, or else I might by accident set the place on fire!"_ They both laughed at that, until a friendly silence fell over the line again, broken only after a long moment by Jaegerjaquez. _"I didn't call at a bad time, did I?"_ His voice was soft and calm, calming Keigo's previously stiff body. _"It took quite a few signals before you picked up."_

"Uhm, heheh, I, eh…" A deep crimson blush settled on the brunette's face at the reminder of his previous actions and he struggled to find the right words to say – he couldn't confess that he had almost murdered his phone! "No, I'm on lunch break. You just… took me a little by surprise, that's all."

_"Ah, I see. Well, I wont take up your entire break; I should get ready for my evening-classes anyway. It, uhm…"_ The blue-haired male hesitated, but only for a moment. _"It was nice to hear your voice again. For a while there, I thought…"_ He silenced and remained quiet.

Keigo was taken aback by those words, not sure how to interpret them; he should leave the deciphering for later, when he wasn't as confused.

_"Never mind. I'll talk with you later, okay? In case you decide to ignore me again, remember that I do know where you live. Bye!"_

The call ended before Keigo could reply. He sat there, still holding his phone to his ear, listening to the dead line as if expecting an explanation to all of that. He couldn't help but wonder…Though, looking on the bright side of this, Keigo still have at least one possible friend; surely that was worth celebrating with a big goofy smile. He produced exactly that, raising up from the floor and walking over to his desk, taking his seat. Perhaps everything wasn't as hopeless as it seemed; perhaps his happiness had disguised itself behind a wall of fear (if that makes any sense at all).

_'…Remember that I do know where you live.'_ That line repeated itself inside Keigo's head, presenting itself together with a memory that made the brunette draw his grin into a smaller content smile.

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_**:::::****FLASHBACK****:::::**_

_"Want me to follow you home?"_

_Electric-blue eyes met Keigo's brown ones patiently, offering his service as casually as any friend would have done. It reminded Keigo of the way it used to be between him and Mizuiro – he missed his old friend and the way it used to be._

_"Won't your friends mind if you just leave them?" he asked instead of accepting the offer right off, but the blue-haired male only shrugged._

_"They'll get over it. 'Sides, I wanna make sure no one mugs you on your way home."_

_Blushing out of shame, Keigo broke eye contact and stared at the ground. Mugged… Yeah, of course the taller male would say that – after all, Keigo is the obvious victim of robbery on a night such as this. If he had never told Jaegerjaquez that he often got mugged, would the guy still offer to follow him home? Probably not._

_"Hey, what got your tongue?" the taller male asked, tilting his head as if to take a closer look at his comrade. "Didn't mean to offend you by that."_

_"I… I know, I just…"_

_"Look, I don't expect pity, and I don't give pity. I'm offering to walk you home coz I'm worried 'bout my jacket, and I don't want you catching a cold without it. Okay?"_

_Although Keigo knew that it wasn't out of pity, he also knew that Jaegerjaquez' words were covering the real reason. In the end, though, he accepted the offer, walking slowly, side by side with the blue-haired mystery that recently entered his bubble of loneliness, towards his apartment located almost all the way to the other side of Karakura._

_**::::****END FLASHBACK****::::**_

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A small smile remained on Keigo's lips, and at the end of the day he couldn't resist stopping at a candy store to buy himself a lollipop – he couldn't get enough of the joy coursing through his body. When he wasn't even threatened by anyone all the way home from school he got suspicious. Days like this were… non-existing. His encounter with Orihime at school wasn't nearly enough to fill his daily quota of bad luck; it wouldn't even qualify as anything more than a minor setback. Something else was bound to happen. Thinking like that had him fear the entrance to his apartment…

The moment he stepped inside the doorway, he knew right away something was up. His parents were home, the atmosphere was tense and if he could then he would turn and walk right back out of that door and not return. Still, he couldn't do that (where would he go?). Heh ad no choice but to take off his shoes, put his bag on the floor and enter the living room where he knew he would find his father, idly watching the news on television. However, unlike other days, today the older man actually turned his head to acknowledge the young male.

"Keigo."

"Sir?" Yes, he calls his father 'sir', and his father never call Keigo 'son'; that's the way it always were.

"I have decided where you shall be stationed during your winter-holiday." The father took off his glasses to clean them absentmindedly, no longer looking at his son. "I had a word with the employer and it is all set. You will be working at the Mall, in the bookstore."

There was never any peace. Ever since Keigo started high school he had been trying to get his friends to go away with him for the breaks, but no one ever wanted to, therefore leaving him to go along with his father's plans. This time was no different – his father had gotten him a job, he would have to accept it as it came. Reluctantly nodding his head, Keigo once more accepted his fate.

"Yes, sir." What other choice did he have? "When will I start?"

"Immediately after school, the 20th of December." Satisfied with cleaning his glasses, he once more placed them before his eyes and studied his son with empty eyes. "That would be all. Make us dinner, your mother will be out of the shower shortly."

"Yes, sir."

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**Authors Note:**

_Again, thanks for the support, everyone!_

_REVIEW!  
_

_Watch out for the new update!_

//Namantos


	5. Chapter 5

_**HELLO AGAIN!!**_

Oh, looksy, I've updated earlier than expected ^^

This chapter is mostly a filler to tighten up the coming plot (_hopefully not as annoying as the fillers in the animé gets sometimes_). And I hope you won't be disappointed.

I've got the following update worked out in my head, now I'm scrambling up time to put it in a document too (_sometimes work and Christmas-shopping gets in the way _**hmpf**)

So read and enjoy, and feel free to mail me both good and bad critique.

Ideas and requests are welcome ^^

Don't forget to review ;)

/_Namantos_

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'_Indeed, unpredictability is often said to be the essence of creativity._

_But unpredictability is not enough._

_At the heart of creativity lie constraints: the very opposite of unpredictability._

_Constraints and unpredictability, familiarity and surprise, are somehow combined_

_in original thinking.'_

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You know, when sometimes you don't notice the time slipping by and then one day you wake up and realize it's already been four days, and you can't help to think but where does time go and what did you do with it? The expression _'killing time'_ suddenly gets a whole new meaning to it (slightly more depressing) as you realize that in actuality _time_ is killing _you_. Well, that's how it was for Keigo upon waking up that Friday morning. He remembered how excited he had been when his sister told him their parents would be away for a whole week and that he'd have the apartment all to himself, but now he wondered if he had actually done anything at all with the days that had passed; he couldn't think of anything at all besides the usual. But today… Today would be different. Unless… Unless it was all a cruel joke, played on his expense. If it were, he wouldn't be able to cope with it. He _would_ have to cope with it, but in all honesty he wasn't sure how. In the end, he only had himself to blame for letting himself fall into the traitorous joy called hope; wishful thinking had a way of biting till it bleeds after being fed too much fake happiness.

Halfway through being ignored in school, Keigo was positive that he would spend another evening on his own, replaying some old videogame simply because he has nothing better to do. Maybe there's a movie he could watch, fall asleep on the couch wouldn't be so bad (at least that would be something different from the norm). And he was desperate for change; _any_ kind of change would do. Perhaps he should pick up the habit of writing? Then maybe some day someone will find his notes and actually feel sorry for him. But then again, what good does pity do? He would much rather feel accepted than pitied, and he'd prefer being accepted _now_ and not when he's lying in his grave, rotting away six feet below. But he's rotting away right now, as it is; he can feel it, every morning when he wakes up. But then again, maybe he's just being overly dramatic…

When he got home he took a quick shower and took out groceries to prepare for dinner when there was a squeaking noise outside on the street, sounding pretty much like someone was stopping a car abruptly from high speed. However there came no crash and no screaming voices or honking of horns, so Keigo ignored it, deciding it was merely some punk driving recklessly. Then he was startled out of his preparations when there was a knock at his door. Could it be Mizuho? No, she would've barged in and slammed the door shut behind her, dropping profanities carelessly around her, attacking whoever got in her way (namely Keigo). His parents wouldn't have knocked either. So, who could it- Another knock brought him back to the present and he went to open it, staring in complete, honest shock at the wide grin beneath electric-blue eyes that presented itself for him behind that door.

"Yo."

* * *

_POW_

_CRASH_

_BANG_

"Aow!"

…

…

"I-I-I-It was an accident!"

"You don't jump-kick anyone by accident!"

"…I can explain!"

"Explain _after_ I've strangled you. Hey! Stop right there!"

"Like hell!"

"I'm gonna-" _BADUNK! _"Aow!"

"Ouch!"

"Haha! Victory!"

"Watch were ya're runnin', dork!"

"Shut up, Shiro! You can't just round a goddamn corner like that, you gotta be careful!"

"Che! It's my home too. 'Sides, ya can't have a race like that, ya're both too… Well, _you're_ too big for it!"

"Whatever. The creep is turning into dad, you know that, don't you?"

"Well-"

"Tackle-time!"

"Kwaaaah! Ouff…"

"…"

"… As I was say-"

"Dad! You could've hurt me with that surprise-attack! Don't you know how dangerous it is to tackle someone without the proper safety-equipment?!"

"I am so sorry, son! I have failed as a father! I've… _Oh my god_, I'm so _proud!_ My son has become so responsible and considerate! My Kon has grown up to be a gentleman! I am so happy!"

"…You were saying, Shiro?"

"…Never mind. Ichigo… This family… is insane."

"Agreed."

* * *

He came. Jaegerjaquez _actually_ _came_. He was there, in Keigo's apartment, just like he said he would be, and still… Keigo couldn't believe it. He didn't _dare_ to believe it even though he clearly heard the footsteps following him through the short tour of the apartment, certain that if he turned around, the hallway would be empty. Therefore he didn't look over his shoulder, wanting to pretend a moment longer that he wasn't all alone – however once he came to the kitchen he had showed everything there was to see. He sighed, slowly turning around.

"That's a- Huh?" Zooming in on the spot behind him, Keigo was now positive that he had gone barking mad – there was no trace of the bluenette ever having been there, he must have imagined the sound of those footsteps, imagined opening the door. "I'm insane."

"Huh?"

"Jikes!"

"Whoa!"

Spinning in the air, flailing with his arms, nearly knocking into a nose that was far too close, Keigo realized that his guest _had_ truly been there behind his back all along, even as he stopped at the entrance to the kitchen. But those usually amused eyes were now rather annoyed, staring at Keigo with a slight frown. When Keigo landed on his feet he was blushing madly and sure that he had screwed up. But just as he was about to apologize, the frown on the other's face was replaced by a wide grin, showing off a row of white teeth.

"Shit, you sure are jumpy!" The grin loosened into a smirk. "But you need to stop flailing like a girl. If you really wanna hit me, use your fists! Slaps stings too much."

"W-What?" Hit him? Why would Keigo want to hit him? "I-I-It was an accident, I-"

"Relax!" A firm hand landed on Keigo's shoulder and calm blue eyes met his dark ones. "I'm only teasing, mate."

"Oh."

* * *

"Did someone tease you about your hair colour again?"

"No."

"Then what's with the bruises?" A finger prodded the discoloured area on the right side of his cheek, earning a grunt and her hand being slapped away.

"I _did not _get into a fight regarding my flaming _hair_!"

"Okay." The very same finger returned, only this time prodding a patch in the middle of the male's forehead. "What about this then?"

"Aow! Fine! I'll tell you…" It was almost too painful to scowl, but the orange-haired strawberry did a convincing attempt anyway, simply by being him – he was born with a scowl, after all.

"Well?" The short, black-haired girl pierced him with her large, purple eyes, once more prodding the abused cheek. "Tell me about this one."

"Aow!" He once more slapped her hand away, glaring at her. Then he sighed and looked down again. "Kon."

"Aha." The finger touched the patch on his forehead. "And that one?"

"…Shiro."

"Do you want me to beat them up for you?"

"Rukia! No! Please, don't embarrass me."

"Why would I embarrass you for protecting you?"

"Coz' it's the guy's job to protect his girlfriend."

"Ichigo-"

"Shut up."

Before she could react, a hand was behind her head, pushing her towards the strawberry. She probably could have protested, but she knew men had their silly pride to think about. God knows it drove her crazy at times, but for the time being she would let Ichigo feel like he was the strong one. Their kiss was warm and gentle, contradicting their otherwise harsh treatments and words, both forgetting all about bruises and pain – momentarily, that is.

"Aow! Rukia, be careful."

"Sorry." If anything, Rukia wished that the Kurosaki-brothers would stop being so violent, and that she could have one day with not being worried about touching one of her strawberry's sore spots.

* * *

"Come on, it's our final year! Let's have a party to remember, eh?"

"What makes you so sure anyone will come?" questioned the short-haired blonde, her green eyes locked to the madly grinning punk with a patch on his forehead. "With us arranging it, people might get too spooked to come."

"Nah, ya think too much, Menoly. Girls shouldn't think, ya see."

"Then what the hell did you call us here for?" demanded the pigtailed girl with black hair and large purple eyes. "You and pineapple over there can do it all on your own."

"Now, come on, Loly, that's not what he meant!"

"Don't be such a wuss, Renji," chuckled Shiro.

"Lets pretend we do decide to help out," Loly started, pinning Shiro with her devilish eyes. "What exactly is it you want us to do? And what do we get for doing it?"

"Ah, ya strike a high bargain," grinned Shiro, drawing his long fingers through his white/orange coloured hair.

"I haven't even told you what I want, yet."

"But I'm sure it's something I can't afford, hah! Anyway! Music. Can ya arrange music? A DJ, perhaps?"

"Of course. And what will you be doing?"

"Fixing a place to be and arranging for invites." He held out his pale hand for the girl. "Deal?"

"…Deal."

* * *

Dinner was a success – Keigo had done a domburi dish called Gyudon, which is a beef bowl with rice. Actually, he outdid himself this time, it tasted even more delicious than ever before and his guest was obviously pleased. Not to mention that Keigo was utterly happy to finally be playing the game he had so long waited to play! Playing it with someone else was even better! Although Grimmjow lost his temper on a few occasions, it was obvious he was on his best behavior (or at least trying to be). Neither of them noticed how fast time was slipping by, but while they were taking a break from the game and talking about one thing or another, Grimmjow's phone vibrated on the floor next to him, signaling that he had received a text-message. As he picked it up to read, Keigo fell into silence, realizing that the other male would have to leave soon. He wished that he somehow could stop the time… A short snigger brought him back to the presence, and he looked over at the grinning blue-haired male.

"Read." Grimmjow handed his phone to the brunette, amused by Keigo's shocked eyes. "Don't worry, the message was as much for you as it was for me."

Confused, Keigo accepted the black phone with silvery outlines and read.

_Good evening, Mr. Blue-and-Mighty with Friend._

_I finished putting the pictures from the Festival into my album on the B.W. virtual community._

_Be sure to check them out!_

_Oh, and Grimmy, don't forget to invite your friend tomorrow!_

_/Szayel_

"Le's check out those pics." Grimmjow got up from the floor and walked over to the computer desk, sat down on the chair and typed away.

Keigo didn't mind, letting the phone drop to the bed and walked over to watch as his companion logged onto the site they had met. Jaegerjaquez appeared to be quite a popular guy, having ten unread mails, fifteen unread guest book messages and one new friend-request. He ignored all that, though, and went straight to his pink-haired friend's homepage – the pink hair, those same glasses and confident sly smile presented itself on the avatar.

"I swear," Grimmjow began. "Szayel's albums are like a monthly journal. I'm afraid the pictures with you are gonna be seen by hundreds of people, hope you wont mind."

"H-hundreds?!" Sure, Keigo had posted an avatar of himself on that site, but his albums were pretty much empty, only a few of himself and even more of other random stuff, but very few bothered to view them. The mere thought of being seen by hundreds of people, with Grimmjow and his friends, was quite… scary. But it also made him feel somewhat… proud.

"Yeah, but if you get sexually harassed after this, I'll handle the idiots."

"S-s-sexually h-harassed?!"

"Oi, don't scream so close to my ears, mate! I can hear perfectly fine (_so far_)."

"Sorry…" But sexually harassed? The only comments he had gotten so far of his posted pictures was what a geek he is, and how ugly he is and should hide his face in a paper bag – no one in their right mind would sexually harass him. Even so, if girls started to sexually harass him, he would be in heaven! Though, he wouldn't mind letting Grimmjow deal with any hairy, stinky men that might do the same thing.

"Ah, here they are."

The first pictures in the album were some random of Szayel and his brother around what Keigo assumed were their house. There was also a picture of Nnoitra with a very sour expression on his face – no wonder, as he was lying in a bed, probably just been woken up by Szayel – tossing a pillow towards the camera. Then there were pictures from their trip, which Keigo had already seen some of in Grimmjow's album, and beneath all pictures were thorough explanations to where the picture was taken, when and who were on them – unlike Grimmjow's album, which had no text at all and only a bunch of images.

Then they reached the pictures from the Festival. Jaegerjaquez took his time going through each photo, letting Keigo see them because some was taken before he joined them at the café. There was one with Jaegerjaquez and Ilforte lying on the ground in a heap with Tesla innocently smiling behind them (Grimmjow said Tesla had stuck his foot out just when they had passed him and both of them tripped one after another – who could've guesses Tesla could be capable of such a stunt). There was another picture of Nnoitra, sleeping with his head on the table at the café, obviously unaware of being photographed.

"He's gonna flip when he sees that," Jaegerjaquez sniggered.

"Yeah? I think it's a good picture. Makes him almost look… nice, and human," Keigo admitted.

"Heh, that's exactly why he's gonna flip."

Makes sense, Nnoitra isn't exactly the guy who wants to be known for being 'nice'; otherwise he wouldn't be so rude most of the time. At least, that's how Keigo saw it, but he shouldn't be categorizing anyone he only just met, so he left it unsaid. There were a few more seemingly random photos, a few from when Szayel and Tesla had been in the Mall where the latter is trying to hide behind a pole to avoid being photographed – it was unsuccessful, though, since he had been caught in the jump, or skip, or whatever one could call it, making him look very silly. Then, at the next picture, Keigo was momentarily shocked, confused as to why his face was on a picture, but then it all came back to him and he managed a shy smile. It was truly a great picture of him standing between Grimmjow and Nnoitra, all three looking genuinely relaxed and happy, with the night sky coloured with hundreds of different colours from the fireworks; magic. It must be the best picture ever taken of Keigo.

"Beautiful." The bluenette then reads the description. "_'Firework Dreamers. Congratulation Nnoitra, for finally coming out of your shell – all we need now is a smile! Keigo (newcomer), you got the spark. Jaeger, always photo-friendly. "_Heh, yup, Nnoitra will kick his ass."

'_I've got the spark?'_ Keigo thought, wondering what that meant. But it was probably for the best if he didn't know.

Next picture was quite hilarious. Grimmjow's eyes were large as plates, a weird look on his face and his nose scrunched up. Keigo looked like a deer trapped in headlights – a complete scaredy-cat. Meanwhile, Nnoitra was making a face looking a lot like a mix of a child caught stealing candy and (like before mentioned) the Grinch. But it was all in good fun; they both had a laugh at their own expense, agreeing that whatever fun they saw in the image would scream bloody-murder to Nnoitra.

They went through a couple of more images were they stood by the railing, fireworks flashing behind them, and one particular picture cause Keigo to blush a deep crimson and swallow thickly. It was when he nearly took a suicide-dive after Nnoitra had whispered in his ear. On this picture, Keigo was obviously flailing with his arms, screaming, while a baffled Ilforte was reaching for him, everyone else looked shocked and confused. Szayel had typed beneath the image: _'The Fright of Our Lives. Keigo nearly taking a dive, with my brother playing the knight in shining armour.'_ It could've been a funny picture, and remembering what drove him to such an act probably did make it a little humorous, but the thought of Ilforte not having reached for him made it all too… real to be fun. What if he really had taken that dive? Then he wouldn't be standing here, watching these images, right now. He could be lying in a hospital bed, hooked up to machines – even lying in the morgue, waiting for his final rest six feet below. Awful! Feeling the change of mood, Jaegerjaquez scrolled through a couple of images, halting at one sniped of him and Keigo when he was offering his jacket to the brunette.

"Heh, you know what's funny?" Jaegerjaquez leaned back in the chair and watched Keigo with his electric-blue eyes. "When I got home that night, my cat wouldn't stop sniffing my jacket."

"Huh?" He had heard many weird things in his life, but cats sniffing a jacket? It may not be an unusual event to those who have cats, but Keigo didn't know anyone (except for Jaegerjaquez now, that is) who had a cat, so he couldn't possibly know the mysterious ways of cats. "Why did it sniff your jacket?" he ask, honestly curious.

"Smelled like you, maybe." Grimmjow shrugged. "But it guarded that jacket all night, as if he was expecting a visitor or something. Oi, you're not allergic to cats, are ya?"

"Uhm, I… I don't think so. Why?" He had a hunch, but didn't want to risk taking anything for granted.

"Good, coz I got three of 'em."

* * *

"Yo, Red… Whazup with ya?"

"It's just… "Renji sighed, shaking his head. "I just don't think that… it's wise to team up with Loly and Menoly."

"Is that so?"

"Yeah." Another sigh escaped him as he tried to ignore the hand clutching his knee. "Those two will… more than likely turn this party into a brawl. I thought we were gonna be serious about this!"

"We _are_ serious," assured the amused orange-top with white tips (a colour more commonly known as apricot), his yellowish eyes sparkling in the faint light of the room. "'Sides, we're doin' most of the work."

"But Loly will only pick out one kind of music," Renji pointed out. "It has to be a variation of music, or more than half of who we invite will leave before it even starts."

"Hmm, s'pose ya're right." This was indeed a problem Shiro hadn't thought of until now, mostly because he and Loly had pretty much the same taste in music – which wasn't appreciated by all too many besides the two of them. "I'll clear that with her tomorrow. 'kay?"

The redhead accepted this, leaning back on his couch with closed eyes, allowing the pale hand to drift further up his thigh, igniting waives of pleasurable pins and needles to flow through his body. This simply wasn't a time for thoughts of any kind, but all about relaxing; and relax he did.

* * *

"Oh, before I forget!" Grimmjow turned abruptly in the doorway, almost having Keigo walk straight into his chest. Grinning, he leaned on his upper arm against the door-frame, locking eyes with his shorter companion, whom blushed in embarrassment – it was too funny to mess with the brunette to pass on the opportunity. "I'm havin' a little party tomorrow, and I want ya to come."

"R-r-really?!" No matter how hard he tried, Keigo could not stop the giant goofy smile from taking over the lower part of his face, and his eyes sparkled childishly at the mention of _'party'_.

"Yeah." Much like Nnoitra had done the first time they met at the café, Grimmjow placed his hand on top of Keigo's head and ruffled the hair, as if he were a dog – but the brunette hardly cared, he liked the attention he was given above anything else. "So around noon tomorrow at the Mall. Be there, or I'll come here and get you myself."

"Oh, I will!" He would never turn down an invite to a party! Especially not now, when he thought he could count Jaegerjaquez as a friend. "What's the occasion for a party?" he asked out of curiosity; not that anyone needed an occasion to have a party, it's just that he is very curious by nature.

"Ma, nothin' special," shrugged the tall male, flashing his white teeth. "See ya there tomorrow, then, mate." He turned to leave, waiving a hand in 'goodbye'.

"Yep! Drive safely!"

"Always do."

Keigo closed the door behind him, feeling strangely giddy all of a sudden and that goofy smile just wouldn't go away. Before he made any attempt of moving away from the door he heard the car outside drive off in quite the same way it had arrived – _'driving safely, yeah right'_ – and once more the apartment laid in silence. Although it was late (2 a.m. to be exact) he wasn't tired at all, too worked up from everything that had happened that evening, and excited about tomorrow. He had forgotten what it felt like to have a friend over and was determined not to go back to 'not knowing' – this friendship was bringing him out of his loneliness rather than leaving him at a stand-fast, wondering which way to go; it was the uncertainty in this that kept him going, and he'd be damned if he let his sour mood get in the way of happiness again! Because Jaegerjaquez wouldn't have invited Keigo to that party if he didn't consider them to be friends. Finally something good had happened!

Well… It would last until Jaegerjaquez got bored playing the game with him…

* * *

Renji watched sleepily as Shiro returned from his shower, wet apricot-coloured hair glistening in the soft glow from the street-lamp outside the window. This was always awkward, neither of them knowing what to say or do, or even where it was safe to look. Yet the redhead couldn't take his eyes of the copy of his current hate-object, completely (in a strange way) understanding why Rukia had picked Ichigo instead of him – the Kurosaki brothers were handsome, after all. Maybe handsome isn't the right word, but in his tired state Renji couldn't come up with anything better to describe them with. Luckily their personalities weren't anywhere near as alike as their looks; compared to Ichigo's cut-to-the-chase slightly slow personality, Shiro was a unpredictable fresh wind digging up dirt wherever he went, but always fun to hang with. Well, except for moments like these. But no mater how much he disliked these tense silences, Renji couldn't refuse the more than great hand jobs the other guy tended to offer (a hand job from him is like having sex with the Goddess of Erotic) – at least they weren't doing anything too indecent; they don't even kiss.

"'Aight, I'm leavin'," stated the middle brother of the Kurosaki-triplets. "See ya in the mornin'."

"Mm, see ya."

He waited until he heard the front door shut before sitting up, letting out a sigh of relief. Tomorrow they were going to start planning the Holliday-party, creating invites and deciding on activities and such – in other words, it's another completely ordinary day. The events of this evening would be put behind them, forgotten, only to replay another night when both of them were bored or needy. That had been the case for the past year, ever since Rukia left Renji for Ichigo and Shiro had broken up with his girlfriend at that time. Friends with strange benefits, that's what Renji would like to call them, but deep down he feared he might have grown just a tad bit too used to this; he knew it couldn't last forever. Sooner or later one of them would fall in love with some girl, and then the occasional fun would be over. He simply had to accept that, the sooner the better.

But still… Every time Shiro went home after these occasions, he left behind an empty spot inside of the redhead; a spot that desperately needed to be filled.

* * *

**::A/N::**

_**I hope you enjoyed your reading ^^**_

_**Next update will hopefully be around Christmas and/or New Year.**_

_**And GASP I made an OTP!!!**_

_**Anyway, it's still a slash-story mainly between Grimmjow and Keigo, but as you see, a lot will happen.**_

_**R&R!**_

_**Until next time ^^**_

_**Take care!**_

_**/N**_


	6. Chapter 6

**Happy New Year and may the year of 2010 bring you all fortune and happiness!**

Sorry for being late with this update, I was working too much to spend time in front of my computer.

I also apologize for parting this chapter in two again, as I have yet not completed the scene – I hope the entry to the Party will keep you inspired to wait for the real Party-scene ^^

So, again, this is only building up for the party, call it a filler if you like.

Read and review I'll try not to be so late with updates from now on, but not making any promises beside that I can guarantee that I will finish this story no matter what ^^

* * *

"Is she… trying to eat him?" Nnoitra asked with the most comical expression, staring in morbid fascination at the much in love couple by the bench a few feet away from Nnoitra and his companions'.

"You have absolutely no sense of romance at all," Szayel accused, shaking his head.

"_Romance?"_ Nnoitra repeated in disbelief, tilting his head as if another angle would help him see it differently. "I don't see an ounce of romance with _that_."

"I… agree with Nnoi." Jaegerjaquez, too, tilted his head to the side, squinted, but he couldn't shake the disgusted look off of his face. "She's smearing lipstick all over his face."

"Imbeciles," sighed the bespectacled male.

"I've heard that the female spider bites the head off of the male after mating, eating him," commented the 'spoon'.

After a short pause, both Nnoitra and Grimmjow studied the couple with more intensity and renewed interest, while the fourth member of the strange quartet grew more and more mortified by his comrades strange interests; they had been staring at the couple for the past several minutes already, it was becoming embarrassing.

"How long before she bites his head off?" the blue-haired male asks.

"Dunno…"

"Don't worry, Keigo," smiles Szayel. "They can sit like this for hours." How is that _not_ supposed to worry the brunette? He's beginning to think that these people are mentally insane and has escaped from somewhere – with their wild imagination and fascination to morbid stuff that was very likely indeed. "Boys, snap out of it."

"Five bucks she bites his tongue off first."

"Ya're on, dude."

"_Guys!"_ Szayel's shout had all three jumping a feet into the air, _and_ he successfully caused the 'devouring' couple to break apart and leave the scene. Currently, Szayel had the attention of two shocked males and one glaring 'spoon'. "We are supposed to get ready for your party, Grimmy, not sit here and stare at two people making out."

"_That's_ what they were doing?!" Grimmjow's eyes widened a moment in mock surprise before returning to their normal size, a grin planted on his lips. "Sure could've fooled me!" But the grin was enough for Keigo to know that his friend was only joking (much to the brunette's relief). "Alright, let's go to the Mall, I need to buy drinks for tonight."

One after the other they got up and began walking, Keigo being the last to get up, and perhaps lost in thoughts because he stumbled and took a giant step out on the walkway. His normal luck had followed him even this morning and instead of painlessly getting out of the small slip he painfully crashed into another person.

"Hey, asshole! Watch where you're going!"

Keigo froze; he knew whom that angry female voice belonged to and he did not enjoy the death-grip she had around his upper arm, pressing her sharp nails into his flesh. The girl from his class, totally obsessed with Ichigo's previous girlfriend (Orihime) – but on the bright side she was the only one treating Keigo the way she always had.

"Huh? Keigo?" He unfroze and met her purple eyes, wondering why she was all dressed up and looking better than usually. "Keigo! You could've ruined my best outfit being so careless!"

"S-sorry, Chizuru." Thankfully she released her angry grip around his arm and took a step back; a smile on her lips that scared the wit out of the brunette. He glanced in the other direction, noting his three companions observing them with some interest, all with obvious different ideas regarding this situation. Szayel had a look that clearly stated he believed that Chizuru was Keigo's secret girlfriend – that's totally not true! – and Nnoitra presented a scary grin, silently taking pleasure of Keigo's misfortune. However it was Grimmjow's calculating eyes and slight frown that caught Keigo's attention – why did the blue haired male seem so upset?

"Guess what!" Chizuru excitedly shouted. "I'm going on a date!"

"D-date?" Keigo repeated, looking at the girl again; her blush was obvious. "With who?"

"Her name is Lisa. I met her online about a month ago."

"Wow, that's nice!"

"Mhmm!"

* * *

Writing a list of people to invite was harder than expected; that's probably why Shiro left Renji to do it. The redhead had suggested they'd make flyers, but Shiro refused to agree, stating that it'd be easier to just invite the people they knew would be fun company – if they made flyers some might miss it. Ah, it was probably easier to make invite-cards than to find a place for the party, since Renji made copies of one outline (that took him hours to correct spelling-and grammatical errors) and then filled in names of everyone they wanted to come. He probably could've done it some easier way, but this kind of problems wasn't for Renji to solve. While he was doing all of this brainstorming, Shiro was out to call dibs on a suitable place; once he found a place he'd call Renji so he could fill in the location on each invitation. Yeah, one could say it was a full-time job and no pay would come out of it; how ungrateful.

"Damn you, Shiro, leaving me with all of this!"

He had made ten invites per class, which means all will bring one or more friends, some more would hear about it and show up despite not being invited et cetera and so on and so forth – that's always the case, anyway, it wouldn't be any different this time. Oh, right, he needed to write the name of the DJ, but he could do that by hand too (like hell he'd start over again with all those invites!) – besides, he didn't know yet who the girls had gotten to be the DJ; they had yet to call and tell him.

"This is the last time I ever do anything like this..."

* * *

**KEIGO'S P.O.V.**

Suddenly you're attacked by the overwhelming desire to just disappear around the corner and run as fast as your legs can carry you; it's too crowded, too noisy. It could be the echo in the hallway that makes you feel dizzy, or the knowledge of not quite knowing where you are, but you're so nervous that you're certain that even your heartbeats resound against these walls. You're almost in another town! Running home would probably take more than an hour, making it difficult in your current state (you'd collapse just a block away, if you make it that far).

"Eh, I'll stay behind ya," Nnoitra said to Grimmjow, taking a giant step back. "An' if yer cats attack me again I'll-"

"You'll accept defeat by your superior felines and be quiet."

Maybe it's Grimmjow and Nnoitra's internal jokes that you don't understand, never knowing if they're serious or not, if they'll lash out or laugh the next moment. You know that if you wanted to be friends with them you'll have to get used to all of this, but it still unnerves you. Running away would be exactly what you told yourself you wouldn't do, so you mentally chained yourself with an unbreakable chain, taking your time to study the guys around you. Grimmjow was fussing with his keys, trying to find the correct one out of the three he had. Nnoitra was hovering behind him, going on about crazy cats and how Grimmjow couldn't tell his three very different keys apart, gaining a growl in response from the bluenette. As for the two brothers, you didn't quite know what to think about them. Both were always smiling smugly, watching you with all-knowing eyes, seemingly full of themselves. Of course, you couldn't call them "ugly", but their self-awareness was an ugly attribute to their personalities. Szayel was smirking at the two bickering males by the door, tapping a painted fingernail against his arm impatiently albeit amused. Next to you, Ilforte was leaning against the wall, also with a small amused smile, eyes focused on Grim and Nnoitra. His arms were crossed across his chest; head slightly tilted forward, everything with him screaming "sexy" somehow.

You shake your head violently to rid yourself of the disturbing images abusing your inner eye. It has to be his long hair and slightly feminine features that confuses you, nothing else made any sense. A click of a lock brings you out of your "erasing-of-dirty-thoughts" moment – Grimmjow had found the right key and was in the process of opening the door just as Nnoitra dodged behind Szayel; it's safe to conclude that the tall spoon doesn't like cats. You thought it was amusing to see the big scary Grinch hide behind a much shorter pink-haired girly-boy, especially since he's so tough and scary at any and all other times.

"Home sweet home," Jaegerjaquez grinned at his friends, before turning towards his now open door. "Hello, kitties, daddy's home!"

* * *

_Thanks for reading! Stay tuned!_

_Next update shall be up within a week from now if I'm not called in to work extra again. But it shall be up shortly, that's a promise._

_/__**Namantos**_


	7. Chapter 7

**Yo everyone!**

Long time no see and I am terribly sorry for the delay!!! Gomen!!!!!!!

A lot of things have happened lately, putting a strain on my writing, but fortunately I have been able to write a bit ahead, so with a bit of changes there should be a few more chapters coming soon (but I won't put a "deadline" for when I will update, seeing as I've not kept my promises lately)

I hope this chapter won't disappoint you.

I'm cutting this one too in half, mostly coz I feel like it and also coz it works out fine that way, _and_ I can update more soon again. We're now at the party, _of course_ I can cut it in half :P

* * *

**Keigo p.o.v.**

Can anyone imagine Nnoitra fleeing from a cat? Neither could you… until you saw it. And _'see it'_ you did, with your own two eyes – that's a sight you will always remember, even if the rest of your memory is clouded. You've never seen anything like it ever before, and it's likely to be battling for the top spot for a long time too of most hilarious things to witness. And, much to your own personal relief, for once your quick reflexes worked to your advance when you were nearly run over by the Grinch and moments later almost tripped over a huge lion of a cat.

Seriously, you had always imagined Nnoitra to be a fearless thug, killing kitties and eating puppies for breakfast – but here he is with his 'tail between his legs' (so to speak). Granted, that cat is no ordinary cat – it's _huge!_ You're no expert on the feline species, but you are certain that this one is mutated or something! You completely see reason behind Nnoitra's choice of action – you would've without a doubt done the same.

But, perhaps you should focus more on your own dilemma; because, you, too, have a _'stalker'_. Although it isn't as large as Nnoitra's, it isn't much smaller either – _and _it _hisses!_ You've never been so scared in your entire life! But at least it keeps its distance, lying across from you on the floor, glaring at you and wagging its unnaturally short tail (you are fairly sure _that's_not a good sign). That's better than poor Nnoitra having to dodge his furry stalker's jump-attacks, though.

You were watching the cat closely to be ready for any sudden move and therefore you failed to notice that someone took a seat next to you – and the moment you felt a cold finger prod your arm you jumped five feet in the air and gave out a less than manly squeak. You couldn't suppress the small grunt at the pink that burned your eyes when you finally looked at whoever it was that had scared you. Pink on pink? Seriously, you are fairly sure than everyone would agree with you when you say that there is a limit to how much pink you can wear – there should be a _law_ against wearing that much pink! You see… pink pants, a pink sweater, even pink hair (and you wouldn't be surprised if the undergarments were pink too) – you're no fashion-snob, but this is just… hurtful to watch.

"I take it I startled you," Szayel mused, proudly flicking his hand through his pink hair. Stating the obvious to appear smart seemed to be Szayel in a nutshell. "But… if you keep screaming like that every time something startles you, I fear for my poor ears."

"S-sorry." Well, what else could you say? It's not like it was your fault that Szayel decided to scare you – really, it's _he_ who should be more careful. However, your apology was ignored. Instead you had something shoved into your line of vision – and low and behold: it's a dark shade of _pink_. "Huh? What's this?" you asked, blinking.

"Last time I checked," Szayel drawled with a smirk, "it was a perfectly round-shaped CD."

"Uhm, but…" Like you mentioned earlier – stating the obvious. "What's on it? What am I supposed to do with it?"

"Hm, it's yours, and it contains all the images of yourself and some extra from the Festival. And what you do with it is entirely up to you. Here you go."

It was dropped into your lap, the pink CD inside a transparent case, with your name written on it (thankfully with black letters – you'd had enough of pink for a week already). Of course you were grateful to receive all the pictures that you had "modeled" on, but you couldn't remember ever speaking with Szayel about it. Why had you received this gift? Perhaps the pink male could read minds, because he answered your unasked question before you could word them.

"I always give everyone a copy of the pictures taken. Except for Nnoitra, because he is _technically_ and idiot on anything technical, and he uses the CD's to scare off crows and toss at old people walking outside his apartment."

"Oh…" That doesn't really shock you (or, at least, it _shouldn't_ – but somehow it manages to anyway) and all you can do it accept the CD with a bright smile. "Thank you!"

"You are welcome."

And then it hit you…

"Shit! The cat!" Mindless of the stares you were receiving, and the grunt from the pink male next to you for screaming in his ears again, you began to look around after the monster that had been stalking you since you arrived at Grimmjow's apartment, but it was nowhere in sight. Panic swiftly overtook your being, but instead of running around like Nnoitra, you remained seated, stiff as a rock. The only body-parts still functionable were your eyes and mouth. "W-where did it go?!"

* * *

**elsewhere**

"Can you guys be quiet?! We're trying to have a decent conversation in here!"

"Ichigo… Can you just ignore them for a moment?" Rukia asked her fuming boyfriend while feeling her own patience slipping from her grasp.

"Sorry." The orange-haired male scratched his neck, frowning deeply. "I just can't concentrate when they-"

"_Oi, hand over the remote, ya brat!"_

"Shut up!"

"Ichigo!" She glared at the male sitting next to her on the bed, trying to make him forget about his childish brothers and focus entirely on her, but it seemed like an impossible task. He wasn't even looking at her, only waiting for the next opportunity to shout at whoever would dare make a noise next. Oh, but he just didn't hear _her_, even though she was sitting right next to him while the others weren't even in the same room. "Ichigo, I'm trying to talk with you."

"Maybe we should leave. It's Saturday after all, maybe there's some party somewhere."

"Is that all you ever think about?"

"Huh?" Confused, Ichigo finally looked at his girlfriend. Her glare is even scarier than Ichigo's frown, which of course makes him worry. "What did I do wrong now?"

"You never want to just talk," she explained. "It's always something physical with you. If it's not me treating your wounds after the many fights you get into, it's sex or parties. Why can't we just have a normal day when there is no blood, no physical exhaustion and just the two of us talking or watching a movie?" Thinking of this made her almost regret leaving Renji – at least he wasn't as oblivious about these things as Ichigo is. He never made her feel this lonely.

"What are you talking about?" Ichigo demanded, offended. "I do want to talk, and it's not always about… what you said." He snorted, turning away from her. "What do you expect me to do when people come up begging for a fight? I can't just back away like some coward, can I."

"…No, I guess not." But, just once, she wished he would do just that – if for nothing else, then at least for her. "But you're not exactly the type that stays out of trouble. You look for it."

"I do not." He faced her once more, this time without the constant frown, meeting her gaze head on. "You knew all this about me when you started dating me. I won't change; I've already told you that. The reason I couldn't stand Orihime was coz of her eyes – the disappointment. Please… Don't become like her. Accept me for who I am, or leave me alone."

And that was all it took to bring Rukia back to the ground, plant her head against his strong chest and breathe in his scent. She would accept him, even if she didn't want to. She would deal with it. Maybe – just maybe – he would change with time on his own.

* * *

**Keigo p.o.v.**

"_What?!"_ It didn't bother you that you attracted so much attention this time, because this bit of unsuspected information called for an outburst such as this. "Why didn't he tell me?! Why didn't _anyone_ tell me until _now?!"_

"How am I supposed to know that?" answered the very amused pink-haired person. "Obviously he didn't want you to know, for whatever absurd reason. Now, stop screaming into my very delicate ears, I beg of you. If you do not heed my warning, I might have to beat you into the cushions of this couch and strangle you until you get enough sense into that head of yours."

Gulp. Perhaps you'd be better off if you didn't scream anymore around the pink person. But how could Jaegerjaquez to that to you? It wasn't fair! You are his friend too, right? Then why hadn't he told you? Any other thought you might've had, or anything you possible had planned to say, was abruptly interrupted when something tall, slender and dark fell into your lap. Although you hadn't been able to prevent a startled scream from escaping, all and any sound was shut off at the sight of Nnoitra, disheveled and exhausted, sprawled out on both yours and Szayel's laps. Both of you gave him a strange look, which he seemed to take offense by.

"Oi, ya're not the ones running from a huge organic hairball!" he quickly pointed out, frowning. Though he didn't seem at all fazed with how he was positioned, and you didn't dare to move – you counted it as luck that you didn't have his head on your lap (that would've surely given you terrible nightmares). "Crazy monster… I managed to trick the bitch, lured it into the bedroom and shut the door behind it. Now I jus' gotta mingle with the crowd and stay out of its way." Giving the cat's size, it would only be a matter of time before it had opened the door to the bedroom.

"Why does the cat hate you so anyway?" you suddenly asked, unsure of where you got air to breathe from. Szayel seemed more than a little amused, but Nnoitra was staring at you as if you were crazy. "Huh?"

"Hate me?" Nnoitra repeated in disbelief. "The cat doesn't hate me. It freakin' _loves_ me! _That's_ the freakin' _problem_, dude!" Loves him? The cat loves him?! "If it hated me I'd just kick it into the wall or sumthin', but…" He left it unsaid, clearly not pleased with what he had nearly said, but you knew. You knew that inside that hollow chest, he _does_ have a heart. And because he knows the cat loves him, he doesn't have the heart to scare it off or hurt it. That _and_ he's afraid of it. "Eh, by the way… Where's the fur-ball that followed _you_ around?"

A wise question, indeed – one you had asked yourself several times during the last couple of minutes; but there was no reply. Perhaps the evil-looking cat had given up on its chase? Or maybe it had changed method and lured somewhere you couldn't see it. Suddenly the three of you stilled, staring at each other at the hissing sound that reached your ears. 'When you speak of the devil' came into mind, but you had no chance to react before something hairy bounced into your lap and a very aggressive hiss silenced the entire room. You have never seen Nnoitra move so fast before, and you hadn't expected him to be so agile – but sure enough, Nnoitra did a back-flip quite gracefully, landing on the edge of the cough next to Szayel before darting off with a row of very foul words streaming from his mouth. It could have been funny. Szayel, too, stared at the cat, but with a different expression – one with distaste, as if he was looking at a maggot-eaten corpse being served on a golden plate on a five star hotel. It didn't take long until he too followed Nnoitra's example and bolted away. However, all you could do was sit as still and silently as possible, because the cat… was standing on your lap, digging its sharp claws into your skin, giving you a fair idea of just how it would feel should it decide to sink its teeth into you instead. It stopped hissing, though, and instead carelessly lay down to take a nap – _on your lap!_ – and you are absolutely terrified. Gulp.

"_H-h-huh?!_"

* * *

**A/N:**

Sorry again for the delay.

Please review and keep writing advises.

P.S. I now know what my muse must look like… It's gotta be a _monkey_! I know this, coz it keeps jumping around! A few hours ago I was writing a fanfic with PoT-characters!!! But then I reminded my muse that I have a Bleach-fic to update before I do anything else, so here it is.

**REVIEW**! Thx.

_Namantos_


	8. Chapter 8

Hello again!

Quick update this time (don't expect too many of these) and finally the end of the party and cat-attacks (for now) ^^

I hope you will find this chapter to your liking and that there will be no more confusion left from the previous chapter ^^

Many mentioned the lack of Keigo/Grimmjow interaction – don't worry, the main pairing will take up more of the show from here on.

_I apologize for possible grammatical errors and/or misspellings._

* * *

**Keigo p.o.v.**

It's… his birthday? Why hadn't he told you? Now you feel like an idiot being the only one unaware of the reason behind this party, and like a bad friend for not having wished him a happy birthday. Why _hadn't_ he told you?! Was it his intention to make a fool out of you? He didn't want you to know for some reason? _Why?! _Maybe he had just forgotten to tell you…?

…'_What's the occasion for a party?' you asked him once the initial burst of energy had settled down; you always get hyper when it comes to parties._

'_Mah, nothin' special…'_

No, you _had_ asked – he simply hadn't told you. But (with the risk of being too repetitive) _why not_ tell you? Is this how he plans to tell you how he has only been toying with you all this time? Is it now that he will kick you out of his home, mentally wounded and once more all alone, to mend for yourself in an area you are unfamiliar with? You should have seen it coming, though – it had always been an impossible fairytale to be with Jaegerjaquez and his friends.

A rather angry and startled hiss came from the cat occupying your lap and despite the pain from its claws digging into your skin you were too afraid to flinch or even make a sound. Instead you stared at the beast, wondering how you hand managed to anger it, but it wasn't looking at you. How odd. Following the cat's line of vision you find the bluehaired male, frozen in a half standing/half sitting position, having a glaring contest with the cat.

"J-Jaegerjaquez!" You hadn't seen much of him since you arrived at his apartment, and now (with the knowledge you now possessed) you weren't so sure you wanted to see him at this moment. But it's not like you can ask him to go away, that would be rude and unacceptable in his own home.

"Hm?" Breaking out of his glaring contest, Jaegerjaquez' blue eyes found yours, pushing him out of his frozen state. He grinned and flopped down on the couch next to you, leaning lazily against your shoulder. "I'm surprised to find my kitty here. You must've made a good impression on 'im."

"What?" The cat is a stalker, all you did was try to avoid it – and you weren't very successful, _obviously_.

"He doesn't like _anyone_," Jaegerjaquez stated. "Not even me." He glared down at the still hissing feline. "And I saved your life, you ungrateful furball." The cat hissed in response, seemingly taking a defensive position, ready to strike if needed, but that didn't faze Grimmjow in the least.

It was funny to watch their interaction, but you couldn't fully surrender to enjoy the moment – matters at hand were too pressing. You had to tell him that you had uncovered the truth behind this party and that you'd figured out his intentions – no need to prolong the suffering.

"Jaegerjaquez," you tentatively started, locking your eyes onto the cat instead of at the person you were addressing. You knew he was listening, coz you felt his head shift against your shoulder to look up at you. And so, swallowing your fear of rejection and disappointment, you breathed deep before continuing. "Why didn't you tell me it's your birthday?"

Everything seemed to freeze at that moment. You froze, expecting rejection; he froze, probably because he hadn't expected your question; even the c_at _froze, but that could be because it had once more rolled into a ball on your lap. Why did it take so long for him to answer? Was he thinking up some excuse? You heard him sigh and felt nervous knots tie themselves together in your stomach – this was it, the moment you had been waiting for; the time of rejection, of once more being the lonely geek you had been not too long ago.

"I jus' didn't want you to get all hyper 'bout getting me something," Grimmjow breathed silently. He shifted to a sitting position, looking at you but you still couldn't face him head on. "I should've told ya, though. Sorry."

"Why?" You asked, unsure if you should believe him or not; god knows you wanted to believe everything he said, but something inside of you warned you of being hurt the same way Mizuiro and everyone at school had hurt you. "Don't you want a present from me? Isn't that what friends do?!" You stared into his eyes, unsure if you should be angry or cry, but you bottled it up for now and focused on just staring; he looks both apologetic and sheepish, which confused you.

"Heh, would it sound too stupid if I said that I jus' wanted you to show up?" he asked, sinking into his cushions as if embarrassed, though his electric blue eyes never broke away from yours. You blinked stupidly at him, unsure of how to interpret his words, and he took this as a sign. "Of course it's stupid, but that's the fuckin' truth." Defensively he sits up straight again, meeting your gaze with determination. "I don' want my friends to feel like they have to buy somethin' for me just coz I was born on this day. All I want… is to be acknowledged." It was obvious from the slight blush on his cheeks that he was embarrassed, but he still refused to turn his eyes away from yours, as if determined to prove that he was telling you the truth; and you believed him. "By showing up here you prove that you are a friend, right. Whether it is a close or distant friend, it doesn't matter – what matters is that I'm not alone." To some, this would seem selfish, but you understood perfectly. You, too, live by those same wants; although you do expect lots of presents on your birthday. "Besides… Today is _not_ my birthday." Huh? But Szayel- "It's tomorrow. The 6th of December. But we celebrate it today coz tomorrow is a Sunday, and everyone has school or work on Monday." That made sense. "But…" Grimmjow finally smirked and resettled himself against your shoulder, closing his eyes as if having decided to join his cat in a nap on top of a part of you. "If you insist on giving me something, I'm sure I can come up with a suggestion."

Although this statement should have triggered a warning-bell (and something skeptic inside of you _did_ stir) you were just happy that you had been wrong in assuming the worst. You _aren't_ alone – at least not today.

* * *

**elsewhere**

The apricot-haired male counted to three signals before there was a reply on the other end of the line – that Renji, he's always so predictable. With a grin, he listens to the tired grunt from the redhead.

"Yo, Ren! Are ya done?"

"_Yes, I'm done with the invites,"_ Renji sighed. _"I'm never gonna help you with anything ever again."_

"Aww, dun be like tha'," Shiro sniggered, combing his hair with his fingers. "It'll be fun, re'mber?"

"_You keep telling me. But I've been stuck with all the boring work while you-"_

"Oi, don' go pointin' fingers when I can't see it." He loves toying with Renji, especially coz he's such an inviting target. "Stop yer grumblin' an' listen to me," he more or less laughed into his phone – talking to Renji always put him in a good mood. "I've got news fer ya, 'boy the wildcat. She an' Ichi had a fight earlier."

"_Huh? W-What? Why?!"_

"Fuck if I know, jus' thought ya'd like ta know." But he kind of knew, judging by Ichigo cursing at him and Kon for arguing about which channel to watch on the TV; but he skillfully decided to leave that bit of info out (it was irrelevant anyway). "Wha'd'ya see in 'er anyway? She's an annoying bitch."

"_Don't speak of Rukia like that!"_ Renji shouted into the phone, forcing Shiro to pull his cellphone away from his ears to avoid damage to his eardrums. But it was to be expected – after all, he _did_ insult the '_precious'_ piece of meat after all (if Renji or Ichigo ever found out what he likes to call Rukia in private then they'd both want to kill him).

"Wha'd'ya do if she does leave 'im? Would ya take 'er back?" He didn't really care what happened, but Renji had been so upset when Rukia had left him for Ichigo and still obsessed about this detail whenever he saw his ex girlfriend with Shiro's brother. The middle brother of the triplets couldn't understand why Renji didn't just let it go.

"_I-I'm not sure,"_ Renji confessed.

"Che!" Had he forgot to tell Renji that Rukia is a two-timing bitch? No, he's certain that was the first thing he told the redhead after finding the bitch with his brother. "Well, whatevah. See ya tomorrow."

"_Yeah… See you tomorrow."_

To be honest, Shiro couldn't understand how anyone could even remotely like that egocentric girl. She was just a bossy, demanding cry-baby who always got what she wanted. Well, more or less. He could perfectly understand her brother for keeping a tight leash on her most of the time, but ever since she started dating Ichigo that leash seemed to get longer and longer; for sure because her brother couldn't stand Ichigo's tantrums. Would it work if Shiro begged really hard to every gods and devils and whatever strong force is out there, that they'd remove her entirely from his family and friends? He'd do anything to make that dream come true…

* * *

**Keigo p.o.v.**

All of a sudden the room was bristling with life – there is faces you have never seen, voices you had never heard, and basically no one to talk to – and you find yourself in a room (no, a whole apartment) full of strangers, stranded in a hopeless situation with no good alternative way out. Ah, but you aren't completely alone – in your lap lies a spotted cat with intense green eyes that keeps glaring and hissing at anyone that's getting too close. Maybe that's why you find yourself alone with no human company; the cat simply wants you all to itself. However cute that might be, it's also quite uncomfortable when its claw cut through your denim, piercing your flesh as if you're a pin-cushion (and you must look like one, too, right about now). At least your stalker had turned into a bodyguard of sorts, that's better than the alternative.

"Here, bro."

Snapping out of your thoughts (why hadn't the cat warned you of someone coming up to you this time?) you dart your eyes to the can of cider that is offered to you. You are shocked but grateful, because your throat is really dry and every time you tried moving to get something to drink the cat had been angry – you follow the arm of your savior until you see long blonde hair flowing perfectly over a slender shoulder. As always, Ilforte have that small crooked smile that you just can't determine whether it's friendly or hostile, and those all-knowing eyes meeting yours dead on.

"Thank you." You accept the cider and take a sip from it.

"You look bored." Ilforte states this matter-of-factly, taking a seat next to you and eyeing you lazily. The cat didn't seem to care the he was there, but it didn't stop glaring at anyone else. "Thought I'd keep you company."

"Thanks." But the one you wanted to keep you company had disappeared after you had confronted him about it being his birthday-party. "Do you know where Grimmjow is?"

"Hm, last time I saw him he was talking on the phone." His eyes lowered to the content cat purring in your lap. "Reaper likes you, bro. He's never like that to anyone else."

"Reaper?" The cat's ears perked up at the mention of his name but remained parked. Somehow the name suits the cat perfectly… "He doesn't hiss at you," you finally state, first now giving in to the surprise of this occurrence.

"No, but he merely tolerates my presence. He doesn't like people in general."

Heh, you had noticed. You couldn't understand why you weren't on its hit-list, but you were eternally grateful that you didn't have to feel its wrath.

"Oh, by the way…" Ilforte leaned in a little closer (a little too close for your comfort) to whisper in your ear. "We're heading out soon, it's close to midnight and we always fire off some fireworks on birthdays."

Fireworks… Fireworks is always involved with these guys, but you're not complaining; quite the opposite, actually.

Ilforte stayed by your side the rest of that evening, chatting about nothing and anything, making you feel less lonely and more part of the party. Your previous thought of him being… well, beautiful, lingered, but there was still something about the guy that you didn't really liked; not that you could put your finger on what that was exactly. Either way, it didn't matter, because at least he kept you company and wasn't bothered that you were so different from all the others at the party.

About 23:30 you all left the apartment and you finally saw Jaegerjaquez again. He was walking with Nnoitra and another guy with dark hair that you didn't know the name of; all three of them were deep into some form of conversation. You stayed in the back with Ilforte, who told you that you were heading towards Kagamino City – apparently there was a park there that they would use for their firework. It was a perfect night for fireworks, starlit and no fog or smog or anything of the kind that could disturb the show. When they arrived, there were already a couple of guys waiting there, and the shortest of them practically attacked Grimmjow with a loud _'happy birthday'_.

"That's Jio," Ilforte informed you in his casual yet all-knowing way. "He's Grim's cousin." Now that he mentioned it, you could see some similarities; such as the large, alert and observing eyes that nothing could escape, and the same determined grace in the way they move. Other than that, they were like blueberry and cherry: completely different. "And _that_ creep…" Ilforte nodded towards a tall male with long blonde hair, bangs in a line just above his eyebrows, looking very pleased with himself where he stood. "That's _my_ cousin; Findor. He's a self-righteous bastard, bro."

"Cousin?" You take a closer look and spotted the same smile on Findor that the two Granz-brothers have. "I could've sworn you'd be-"

"A~ah, _don't_ say it, bro!" A graceful finger effectively shut you up. Glancing back at the blonde by you side you are perhaps slightly worried to see one of those delicate brows creased on the blonde's now annoyed face. "I've heard that one too many times already." Obviously Ilforte and that Findor-guy doesn't get along… "He's an annoying copy-cat who thinks that he's a god."

You listened while Ilforte told you who a few of the other's were, and what their relation to Grimmjow was, and after that you just waited for the fireworks to start. Apparently Jio and Findor, along with their friends, had been there for a while to set it up properly, and now they only waited for the clock to get closer to midnight – no point with fireworks if it wasn't at the strike of twelve, inviting the new day with a bang to be remembered. And when that time finally arrived, you were enchanted when the sky was lit up with colors and explosions; _everyone_ was equally enthralled. However, you nearly jump out of your skin when someone lays an arm around your shoulders, but you relax when you find it's only Grimmjow.

"You still wish you could've given me a birthday-present?" he asked, loud enough for you to hear over the noise from the firework.

"Of course, what kind of a friend would I be if I didn't?" What was he getting at? Hadn't you made that clear earlier when you talked about it? And why does he have that smile on his face – should you be worried?

"Right… Then give me a birthday-hug, coz I'm fuckin' freezin' here."

A… a _hug?_ That's what he wants for his birthday? No, he's cold, that's why he wants one. And it's just a hug, so what harm could it do, right? Exactly! No harm in a friendly hug. After all, Grimmjow does seem to be a very cuddly kind of guy, always sneaking up behind more or less anyone to steal a hug, or leaning on you on his couch and stuff like that. The two of you are alike in that way, though you see yourself as clingy rather than cuddly.

"A-alright."

You find yourself tightly embraced by strong arms, circling your lesser fit body and pressing you into a cold chest. Yeah, you could understand why he was cold, seeing as he hadn't put on a jacket; his trembling made you smile, feeling good about yourself that you could give him some of your warmth this time (after all, he did let you borrow his jacket once when you were cold). You both stood there, watching the fireworks and sharing bodyheat, and after several minutes with just standing there you heard him whisper in your ear.

"Thanks for facing this moment with me… " His voice seemed almost sad, but at the same time relieved. "I hate my birthday."

Pained, strained and honest words pierced the bottom of your heart, making you gasp. How can anyone hate their birthday? Normally you would ignore comments like that, thinking they were made simply to get attention, but the way Jaegerjaquez were saying it, it made it impossible to be a lie, or even an exaggeration. You wanted to ask why, but now was not the time – and Ilforte was glancing at the two of you, making you feel out of place and ashamed. There you are, hugging another guy for no apparent reason to anyone that hadn't heard his request… It sure could be misunderstood. But right now you didn't care about that. Grimmjow needed a friend, and you wanted to prove to him that you are just that – a friend. That you won't stand him up or leave him to misery; you will always be there when he needs you, because that's what friends are for, no matter what.

"Hey, bros…"

Both of you turn to look at Ilforte at the same time, realizing that the fireworks are over and that you are still embracing each other. You blush at the embarrassing situation and let your arms drop from his sides, but he takes a little longer to grasp the concept of Ilforte's interruption – once it hit him, though, he sounded an _'oh'_ and stepped away from you with an appreciating smile.

"Thanks for the heat, mate." He fisted his hand and gently hit his chest. "Feel much warmer now."

"You are welcome!" Perhaps it wasn't the best time to be beaming, but you did feel like you had accomplished something great and was extremely proud of yourself.

* * *

**elsewhere**

Rukia and Ichigo had argued?

This had haunted Renji's mind ever since Shiro had given him that call and he was now unable to fall asleep. A part of him wanted them to break up so that he could get back the love of his life. But another part of him didn't want Rukia to get hurt. It was obvious to Renji that she at least like Ichigo a bit more than she had ever liked him, because she was opposing her brother's iron-grip just to be with the orange-haired guy – something she had never done when it came to Renji. That's why he, despite being hurt and upset, hadn't tried to break the two of them apart. But at the same time there was a little red devil inside of him that jumped and screamed about getting even, hurting her back just as much as she had hurt him.

Being torn between following his hurt and following his pride, he had to settle with listening to his heart; but his heart was far from cooperative at the moment. How can you hate someone and at the same time love them so much? It made no sense to him at all… Perhaps he could talk to Shiro about it in the morning.

* * *

**Keigo p.o.v.**

You were back at the apartment again and refused to sit down on the couch with the risk of becoming the cat's personal bed again, trying your best to ignore the glares the feline sent your way. Though with the lack of both Jaegerjaquez and Ilforte at your side, you felt very out of place – no one wanted to talk to you. That's why, when someone placed a hand on your shoulder, you almost went to Paradise and back. It was that guy that had been talking with Jaegerjaquez and Nnoitra while you all went out to the park, the one with dark hair. What surprised you was his facial tattoo of the number '69' on his left cheek, and the three disfiguring scars crossing his right eye starting from his hairline and ending by his chin. He's very scary, even more so than Nnoitra.

"I heard you live around my area," he said, voice deep and husky. "I can give you a ride home later, if you want."

Right, you hadn't even thought of how you would get home. But the fact is that you _have to_ get home, because your parents will be back in the morning (if they weren't already). But… was it really okay to just accept a ride from this scary stranger? He seemed harmless enough, but you could be wrong.

"Uhm, y-yeah, I might need a ride," you replied, decided that you wanted to ask Jaegerjaquez about the guy first. "Can I get back to you with that?"

"Sure. I'll be here for a while longer." With that, he mingled with the crowd, leaving you to find your bluehaired friend.

Finding Jaegerjaquez was easier than you had expected – actually, _he_ found _you_. Or rather… he glomped you from behind when you least expected it (not like you ever expect anything unexpected like that). But at least he made an appearance at the right time (again).

"Uhm… That guy, with the awful scars and the weird tattoo…" Apparently your description amused the bluenette, for he laughed out loud. "He offered me a ride home."

"Yeah, I told him you live pretty close to each other," Grimmjow admitted, still grinning madly as if finding the situation extremely hilarious. "What, you thought he was trying to trick you?"

"I…" Come to think of it, you didn't know what you thought. But it made sense to ask around before going off with a complete stranger. "N-no, I just… I, eh…"

"Hahah! 'S alright, he wouldn't hurt a fly. But you are welcome to stay the night if you want to."

"I, heheh… I really think I should be getting home, though." Definitely, you should be going home. "I appreciate your offer, though."

"Oh well." Grimmjow shrugged. "Shūhei's a good guy, don't worry. He'll bring you straight home."

That was all you needed to hear.

* * *

**A/N:**

Surprised to find Hisagi Shūhei in the midst of the espada and arrancar? Heheh, there will be an explanation to this later on in the story.

I hope this chapter was to your liking ^^

How to you like the story so far? Going too fast or too slow? Anything you think is missing? Too little action?

I gladly accept suggestions and ideas.

Thx for reading!

**REVIEW**

_Namantos_


	9. Chapter 9

**I am terribly sorry for the late update! Gomen!**

I have had so much to do and even more to think about :/ and my unreliable muse has been jumping around randomly, giving me a bad headache and a severe case of toothache.

I sincerely hope that this update will be satisfactory, and I will continue to write on the next chapter immediately after this is posted!

I hope you haven't gotten tired of the long wait, though...

Please review! It will help me tremendously on my strife to complete this story!

Let me know if you think this chapter is lousy, if you are missing something in my story, and if you have any ideas for what to come! :D

Thanks again for all the support!

* * *

**UNPREDICTABLE**

Waiting is always nerve-wrecking - this time is no different. It's the fifth time you read the message left on your phone late last night, and probably the twentieth time you check the clock. You had been early, and it still wasn't time to meet with them, but the closer it got to the set time, the more certain you became that they wouldn't show up. It is silly, really, but you were unable to stop your brain from making up these ideas and worries - it's simply you in a nutshell. No matter how many times you told yourself that you aren't being fooled by them, it's hard to let go of that little bit of doubt that seems to grow every time they aren't around you. Why is it, though, that when you are in their company, that doubt gets nullified? Either you are very blind to their mocking, or you are stupid enough to believe them. Though, they had still to let you down, to justify your doubt; which of course only makes you feel guilty for disbelieving them in the first place.

What worries you is that everything has been too good to be true for quite some time now. There has been nothing to complain about, not even any attempts to mug you when you're out of your house. It's just not natural. Things like that _always_ happens to you. But... Naturally you are happy that you aren't targeted every other day by some scheme the world has set against you, but to not be exposed to those _'normalities'_ anymore, well, it makes you feel... as if you've been forgotten. When what's supposed to happen, doesn't happen... Anyone would have been confused by that. Right? Certainly.

Another nervous glance at your clock tells you that they should be here any moment now; _if _they show up.

* * *

Excitement flooded through his body every time he was supposed to meet her, and today was extra exciting. Why? Because he was bringing her to his home for the first time, of course. Not that he was worried she might not like his home - she definitely would - but because he didn't want to come off as too rich. Yes, one could be too rich - it's a personality treat some will never approve of. Mizuiro didn't count himself as one of them, but others might. Money-wise he doesn't especially stand out, but he can definitely buy himself one of those new sport cars without feeling even a little low that month. He's not bragging or anything, and he doesn't want this woman to think that he is.

Just then, a movement to his left caught his attention and he couldn't not look in that direction. It was Keigo, standing by a coffee-shop, looking at his watch. A sigh left Mizuiro - this was not part of his plan. If Keigo started talking, then Mizuiro's date might just drop him before he had the time to explain who the brunette is. Perhaps he could simply ignore the brunette, and pray that _he_ doesn't spot him... Yes, that definitely sounds like a plan.

However, a few minutes later he couldn't stop himself from glancing over to where his classmate stood, and he saw a group of five other males surrounding Keigo. Immediately the excitement within Mizuiro changed into tense nervousness and annoyance. If he squinted, the group of males looked really friendly, and could just be asking for directions. But if he looked at it truthfully, the males looked like troublemakers. Damnit, trust the attention-seeking brunette to land himself into these situations, and trust him to pull Mizuiro into it as well! Because Mizuiro couldn't leave with a clear conscience, could he? No. He would never forgive himself if Keigo showed up at school tomorrow with broken bones and bruises, simply because Mizuiro hadn't helped him.

That settled it, then. Immediately he started walking towards his classmate, fully intending to cut in through the group of males and drag the brunette away, not leaving any room for the others to object. But... the closer he got, the more he realized how impossible that scenario would be. First of all, there stood a giant in his way. He was not exaggerating, either - sure, Mizuiro isn't well-known for his height (more well-known for the lack thereof), but this was ridiculous.

"Excuse me," Mizuiro said, trying to catch a glimpse of Keigo inside the group of males, but the giant was blocking his view - _and_ ignoring him. "Excuse me," he said a little louder, and this time he noted the giant shifted in his stance.

"Huh?" Mizuiro looked up - literally and actually _up_- and caught the giant's squinted eye looking at him with distaste. "Wha'd'ya want, midget? Speak up, can't 'ear ya from up here."

"M-midget?" He was stunned. Midget? Short as he may be, he has never been associated with a midget before. "I'll have you know that I'm at least 15 centimeters taller than the typical _midget _you so foolishly refer me as." Perhaps that was not the wisest reply, considering he is there to save a certain brunette and not land himself further in the mud than he already has, but the midget-comment had struck a nerve. Luckily, the giant looked unimpressed and was about to go back at ignoring him. "Excuse me, but I'm looking for my friend."

"So? Why don'cha climb that post over there, an' see if ya can find 'im."

"Ehum, well, you see I know where he is, and you are blocking my path." The midget-comment must've struck a really _bad_ nerve.

"Good for you. Ever heard of _'going around' _the obstacle blocking your way?" There simply was no getting through to the giant's thick head, was there...

"Listen, you-" Mizuiro had been about to say something rather uncharacteristic of him, but a small, uncertain voice reached his ears just in time (probably saving him, too) speaking his name as if it had been ages since it had last been worded. In slight surprise, Mizuiro looked away from the giant and rested his eyes on his pathetic-looking classmate, whom was glancing at him from behind said giant. "Ah, Keigo!" Mizuiro quickly put on his usual smile; rescue-mission in progress. "I was wondering where you had gone to. Come, let's hurry or we'll be late!" He was about to reach out and pull his classmate along, but before he had a chance to move, Keigo ruined his plan.

"Late? For what?" The stupid brunette looked at his shorter friend with confused obvious in his eyes; the idiot didn't even realize he was being saved. "I didn't know we had decided to do something today."

"Eh, well..." Six set of eyes curiously eyes Mizuiro, who by now felt more than a little uncomfortable. Why was Keigo so thickheaded? "I thought-"

"Oi, midget," the giant interupted. "Kei's with us, so clear off 'less ya wanna hang from that post I suggested earlier."

"Nnoi!" a blond with short hair scolded slightly.

Meanwhile, Mizuiro felt a certain pair of icy blue eyes glaring daggers at him; the bluehaired male standing right next to Keigo seemed to guard the brunette for some reason. Perhaps Mizuiro had misjudged the situation, but... Since when did Keigo start hanging out with people like this? It simply wasn't like him.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I must have been wrong with the dates," Mizuiro quickly defended, not wanting to come off as a complete moron. If Keigo wanted to hang out with troublemakers, it was his choice. "I best be off, then. Talk to you later, Asano-san."

"R-right. Bye, Mizuiro."

* * *

You confusedly watched Mizuiro disappear in the crowd of people on the streets, wondering what had brought forth this kind of reaction. Had you forgotten something you had planned to do with him? No, you hadn't spoken to Mizuiro for quite some time. What was going on?

"Who was he?" Jaegerjaquez suddenly asked, and you found yourself studied by intense blue eyes. The birthday-boy seemed almost jealous, but you pushed that thought aside - it was ridiculous anyway - and put on a crooked smile.

"A guy from school." It had been a long time since you last referred to Mizuiro as _'a guy from school'_ instead of _'my best friend'_, but it would have been a lie to state that latter; at least after recent events (or recent lack of companionship). You would have run after him and asked questions if this had been a few months back, but today you simply didn't feel the need to do so. So you found yourself shrugging it all off and let these weird but _present _guys take up your time and effort. "So, what does the birthday-boy want to do today?"

"Hrm, I can think of a few things," Jaegerjaquez smirked, laying his arm around your shoulders and gave a friendly squeeze.

...

Keigo ended up at three different cafes, one expensive-looking restaurant (Jaegerjaquez refused to let him see the prices of the food, though, and insisted he'd try a certain dish of the bluenette's choice) and then took a stroll through one of the parks in the area. It was strange how easily Keigo settled in with this group of eccentric people, and how easily they accepted him as one of them. Even though he still had some doubts, he refused to let that spoil the present fun and simply went along with the tide.

Nnoitra had been strained by Tesla to not ruin the day, and Szayel had snickered the whole day for that reason. Even Ilforte seemed to find it humorous to see Nnoitra on a tight leash (literally speaking after the visit at the restaurant). Keigo was amused at the same time as frightened to see Nnoitra on a leash, being led like a dog by his shorter friend - and he got even more petrified when the Grinch began to growl at Szayel when the camera was brought out from its hiding.

"Bite me and I'll have you fixed," Szayel warned with an evil grin, looking even more evil than Nnoitra ever had.

"Keh, who'd wanna put their teeth in _you_," Nnoitra spat back. "They'd have'ta put me down for some unknown disease spreading through my body."

"Feisty."

According to Jaegerjaquez, Tesla had bought the leash the day before simply because he had heard of Nnoitra's comment to Keigo on that first meeting - that they'd get a leash for Keigo so they wouldn't lose him in the crowd. Apparently, this was their idea of a joke - and obviously, despite growls and death-glares, Nnoitra wasn't too opposed to the idea of being walked on a leash. Oh the nightmares that would follow, Keigo could already imagine waking up screaming, having dreamt he had a dog looking exactly like Nnoitra.

Time pass fast, though, when you have fun, and everyone needed to head home at an acceptable hour. Much to Keigo's surprise, he ended up in a large jeep, pressed tightly in between Jaegerjaquez and Ilforte, while Nnoitra (of all people) was driving towards the brunette's home, taking directions from the bluenette. Not that Keigo had ever been i na car with Jaegerjaquez before, but he knew that he drove recklessly - even so, he was _a saint_on the road compared to Nnoitra. Perhaps it was lucky that it was a bit crowded in the backseat, otherwise they would've flown from side to side, back and forth and most surely be carsick after only a few minutes. The moment they stopped outside Keigo's home, he could've jumped out and thanked the lord for ending his torment (except he didn't out of fear he might be pulled back into the car).

Jaegerjaquez had to exit the car before Keigo, and once both of them were out the bluenette accompanied the other to the door, even though Keigo felt awkward being followed like that. His parents were obviously home, and if they came out to question where he had been, then they'd also fuss over Jaegerjaquez - in other words, completely embarrass him. That's why his nerves was on edge the whole time, especially once they stood just outside the still closed door to his home.

"Oi, thanks for coming out today," Jaegerjaquez said with a small smile. "It was fun."

"Yes, thanks for inviting me out! And thanks for the food!" Definitely thanks for the food; he had loved the dish that the bluenette had insisted he'd try. "Uhm, so..." He felt a sudden fit of unease wash all over him, making it hard for him to look into those blue orbs before him. "Happy birthday!" He'd said it countless of times already, but it still wasn't enough - he wanted to have bought his friend something, but he wasn't allowed to for some reason.

"Heh, yeah, it actually has been a 'happy' day," Jaegerjaquez admitted, as if he hadn't expected that at all. "We'd better go home, but..." He swallowed before seeking eye-contact with the shorter male. "I'd like a hug before I go, though."

"H-hug?" Just like the night before, sure, Keigo could do that. But somehow this felt more intense than it had done yesterday, as if it was more personal this time. He still found himself wrapping his arms tentatively around the taller male's broader shoulders, and eased comfortably into the friendly touch when the hug was answered back.

"And, maybe..." Jaegerjaquez tensed momentarily. "A small peck." Keigo tensed as well, feeling afraid all of a sudden, but didn't pull away from the embrace. Though he felt uncomfortable when Jaegerjaquez eased away and forced eye-contact again. "On the cheek? Come on, mate, as compensation for the dinner."

...Blackmail. Utter and complete blackmail. Even so, it stirred something dormant inside of Keigo, something he hadn't known existed within him - courageous confidence. Because it sounded as a challenge, something Jaegerjaquez requested for the simple reason he didn't expect Keigo to actually do it, he was _dead-sure_he'd do it. Keigo _would_ prove that he is _not_afraid of Jaegerjaquez, nor any kind of challenge life shoves into his face; unless it involves violence and weapons of any kind, then he'd put his tail between his legs and run for it without a millisecond of hesitation.

For that reason, he surprised the bluehaired male by placing his lips against the soft skin of Jaegerjaquez' cheek, felt the slight tremble from the other, and then pulled away with a cheeky yet sheepish grin (he's probably the only one who can pull that off without parting his face in two). Jaegerjaquez stared at him, frozen, for a few moments, before finally breaking into a wide grin.

"Damnit, mate, I didn't see that coming."

"You asked for it!" Keigo finally let himself smile back with a small laugh, feeling all tension leave him. It was so easy to be around Jaegerjaquez' carefree personality that it made him feel so free, so accepted. It didn't matter if he made a fool of himself - he'd have someone to laugh with if that happened. It wasn't the end of the world if he fell on his butt on the hard concrete - someone would reach out a hand and help him onto his feet again. Jaegerjaquez was just that kind of person.

"Thanks." The bluenette released his light hold of Keigo and flashed his white teeth in a wide grin. "See ya later, I'll call sometime tomorrow."

"Okay! Goodnight and sweet dreams!" Though it wasn't time to sleep yet, he thought he'd say it anyway.

"Likewise."

With that, Jaegerjaquez went down the stairs again and left with Nnoitra and the others. Only when the car was out of view did Keigo turn towards his door. He had decided that he would let go of all worries regarding his new pack of friends, they clearly had no intention of hurting him or leaving him. Right? Of course! Keigo was positive - he was not alone anymore.

* * *

**A/N:**

_That's it, folks! For this time..._

_Don't forget to review and write possible ideas for me to consider! :)_

_/Namantos_


	10. Chapter 10

**Thanks to everyone for your reviews and your support ^^**

_"AGAIN?"_ some of you might think right about now - it won't be a habit with updates this close to one another. But I had a good day yesterday, a lot of ideas flooded through my head, and thought I might as well... Besides, I need to get a feel for the characters again - don't wanna be too ooc with my ooc:iness. :P

I hope that this chapter won't put anyone off, but I realize it's not what most of you expected (I love the unexpected, though).

The plot is getting thicker - at least I have a line to follow, that my muse has agreed with and hasn't tried to sabotage yet.

P.S. I apologize for grammatical errors and misspellings - I'm doing my best, since my computer's grammar-control isn't functioning at the moment, and it's easy to put a blind eye to your own mistakes when re-reading (I'm correcting some errors using the grammar ctrl on ).

I hereby present: _Chapter 10_

* * *

**UNPREDICTABLE**

_Something unpredictable_

_is sometimes too predictable_

_to be considered a fluke._

* * *

Back in school, everything seemed to be normal. He was still being ignored, still as invisible and unimportant as ever; in other words: nothing was new. Mizuiro had given him a questioning glance, seemingly searching for something that wasn't there to be seen, but had otherwise left Keigo alone. But none of that mattered at the moment, because Keigo no longer felt alone. He realized that he didn't need someone to bother in school, because he had someone elsewhere who cared about him; at least cared enough to invite him to parties, for dinner and coffee, and just for a few hours of gaming - that's really all that matters. Actually, Keigo wouldn't mind to just sit and stare at a wall, as long as he had a friend by his side. And although he doubted Jaegerjaquez would agree to simply stare at a plain wall, he knew that he had company, someone to pull him up when he fell down, someone to help him get a grip when he lost it. So for that, he could take eight hours in school being ignored - it could work out in his advantage, since he needed to focus on his studies anyway; he couldn't afford any more failed classes as it was.

Around lunchtime, though, he received a shock. Actually, he received a note. Said note landed on his desk in front of his nose as he was dozing off for the one-hour-long break. Without even reading it, he quickly called for whoever had dropped it.

"Excuse me, you dropped this!" His eyes landed on the redheaded friend of Ichigo. No, that's not right - Ichigo's _brother's_friend. Renji. Ichigo and Renji isn't exactly on friendly terms anymore, which was quite reasonable since Renji's ex-girlfriend cheated on him with Ichigo. Sometimes Keigo was really happy that he wasn't in any of those complicated relationships; they only seemed to make the 'participants' depressed. Now, the only reason Keigo actually knew this guy is because he has to know who he needs to stay clear off - though Renji wasn't necessarily one of those, he wasn't someone Keigo would consider a friendship with either. Not that there was ever a possibility of that happening anyway.

"Oh, did I?" Renji walked back and took the note again, reading it. Then he shrugged. "Nope, I didn't drop it." Then he placed it back on the table again in front of Keigo, whom blinked in confusion at the note - it read in big bold letters at the top: _'Christmas Party!'_

"But..."

"Look, you do know what your name is, right?" Renji was sighing by now, shaking his head in resignation. "Man, you shouldn't sleep in school, it's clearly not doing you any good. See you at the party." With that, the redhead left without another word.

Keigo stared after him in confusion and disbelief. Huh? Party? Why would Renji invite Keigo to a Christmas Party? He read through the note and found his name - Asano Keigo - at the bottom. Whoa, that was indeed a huge surprise! Rarely when he was still visible did he ever get invited to parties - he usually just showed up uninvited, or was the one invited by a friend (who got an original invite) simply out of pity. Mostly it had been Mizuiro inviting him along, even though he made it sound as if it had been Keigo who persuaded him to go to the party - the rich male had his kind days, even though there had been few of those occasions in the past few months.

However genuinely and pleasantly surprised Keigo had been to receive an invite this time, he still wasn't sure if he would go. Because, even if _one_person (Renji) still remembered and saw him, all the others still rejected him, ignored the living soul out of him. He was afraid that if he actually went and felt the cold rejection wrap its bony fingers around his throat again, he might just fall back into that black pit of self-pity he had found himself in before he met Jaegerjaquez. But if he went, and people actually acknowledged him, then his self-esteem would sky-rocket, maybe even reach the stars. Would it be worth the risk? Would he dare to let the carefully rebuilt courage be smashed against the pavement, simply by taking the risk to go to this party? He might lose everything. But he also had everything to gain.

"No point in deciding now," he said out loud to himself in the now empty classroom. "I've got at least two weeks to think about it." He folded the note and put it into his backpack so that he wouldn't lose it, then picked up his food-package. At least he knew he wouldn't starve - his mother had packed more than enough. "Does she think she's feeding an army?"

Perhaps she assumed that Keigo was still eating with his friends, and packed more just in case they hadn't brought anything that day. Indeed, Keigo hadn't told his parents about his situation at school. It's not like it's their fault, and there was nothing they could do to change anything - Keigo saw no reason to tell them; it would only worry his mother, make her more sad, and she didn't need that. And Keigo definitely didn't need a mother-hen on top of all the rest of his problems.

* * *

When the day was finally over and Keigo went out to get his bike, he was met with a new yet familiar disaster - his bike, completely massacred. The front tire was slashed (probably by a knife or something equally sharp) and some of the spokes had been ripped off or bent outwards. The rear brakes had been torn off and the pedals were missing, as-well as the saddle. The first thing that Keigo thought was: _'damn, and so it starts going downhill again'_. But then he took a closer look at the bikes next to his own (something he hadn't ever done in the past) and noted that there were several other massacred bicycles, it wasn't only his that had been tampered with. And that made him smile, and a burden was lifted off his chest.

Why did it make him smile, you might wonder. But just think about it for a while and I think you'll figure out the answer. No? Maybe you did figure it out, but here's the answer anyway. All the other times this exact thing had happened, he had always been too preoccupied with seeing _his own_things being destroyed that he completely missed everyone else's things getting the same treatment. He had always thought that the world was against _him_ and therefore assumed that these things only happened to him as sort of a punishment for existing. But now, now that he finally looked at his surroundings and not only what was right in front of him, he realized that he had been silly to think such a thing. He wasn't the only one cursed with bad luck. He wasn't the only one being bullied, whether it was intentional this time or not (he had always assumed it _was_ intentional against him). This realization brought relief.

Though, when unable to use his bike to go home, it would take at least an hour and more to get home by foot, and he hadn't brought any money for a buss, because usually they got taken by the bullies or thieves along the way. So, by default, he was forced to walk all the way home. Which meant that he might miss dinner, would certainly worry his mother, _and_he would have less time to spend online with Jaegerjaquez. Granted, that wasn't the end of the world, but it still felt like he was letting his friend down by not getting online at the usual hour. Perhaps he was getting a bit obsessed... But he tended to be that way when he got something he likes - like, for instance, now that he finally has a friend again, he wants to cling to him and make sure he doesn't lose him. Though, his clinginesss might get annoying (from previous experience with Mizuiro and the others) and Jaegerjaquez might get tired of it, and then Keigo would be back in the gutter again, feeling pathetic and lonely. But he would to everything in his power to hold on to this bit of happiness, to keep the spark of light alive and brighten up the darkness. If succeeding meant being less clingy, then he would make a brave attempt at it. However, Jaegerjaquez didn't seem fazed by his clinginess, quite the opposite actually; he seemed more triggered by it, constantly making it into a challenge for Keigo. That might just be what Keigo needed, someone to push him forward and constantly make him do things he normally wouldn't have dared to consider.

Like last night, when Keigo had pecked the bluehaired male on the cheek. Definitely not something Keigo would have done in any other situation - male/male action in any kind of way just didn't tap his crane - but since it was Jaegerjaquez, and the way he had said it, it hadn't felt wrong at all. It was a simple peck, not a kiss or anything, and they're both guys, _friends_. Maybe Keigo wasn't the only one being clingy, which might work in his advantage.

* * *

He was almost home when his phone started ringing. It was none other than his bluehaired friend who was calling. Blinking at the screen, Keigo felt dread fill in his chest - Jaegerjaquez should be in class right now. If he was calling, something must have happened. With a shaking hand he quickly pressed the reply-button.

"Y-yes?" He was so shocked he didn't even know how to form a proper reply, his voice as shaky as his hand.

_"Oi, is that a way to answer your phone?"_scolded the voice of Jaegerjaquez, making Keigo cringe a little.

"S-sorry, but... Is something wrong?" He was really worried for some unknown reason. No one would call someone during class if it wasn't really important.

_"Yeah, somethin's wrong!"_At this, Keigo stopped dead in his tracks, waiting for the terrifying news. Was he hurt? Had he been beaten? Had he failed some important exam? Been thrown out of class, expelled for some reason? _"Why the heck haven't ya been online yet?"_...Online? Keigo drew blank, failing to connect the real world with his mind for a moment or two. He had been imagining the worst possible scenarios, and all Jaegerjaquez wanted to know was why he hadn't been online? _"Oi, ya listening? Did something happen?"_

"Eh, uhm, I, eh..." That was it? He had been worried something had happened to Keigo? It made the brunette all warm inside, and a big goofy smile appeared on his face. "Heheh, well someone had killed my bicycle, so I had to walk home. I'm actually still walking." He felt stupidly happy even though he had caused the other to worry; no, _because_he had caused the other to worry. How very evil of him; he must be taking after Nnoitra.

_"Huh? Who did? I'll give 'em a good beating for you."_

"Uhm, I don't know, but there is really no need for violence." Keigo doesn't like violence, not any kind of violence.

_"Hn, but they used violence on your bike, it would only be fair." _That was Jaegerjaquez' logic, but it wasn't Keigo's. It still made the brunette feel joy to know that his friend would defend him to that extent. _"You're alright, though, right?"_

"Yes, I'm perfectly fine!" The wide smile had to have been heard through his words, he was araid his face might part in two if it got any wider. "Oh, but what about you?" The smile subsided, but lingered, as he began walking again, holding his phone with one hand and leading the broken bike with the other. "Shouldn't you be in class?"

_"...I said I needed to use the toilet..."_In the background, Keigo could hear a very low muttering: _'just to call you'_, but he decided not to point out that it was a bad habit to mumble like that. To Keigo, it sounded as if Jaegerjaquez was embarrassed to admit it. _"Anyway, Szayel is good with fixing stuff. You could ask him if he can fix your bike. I'll tell 'im to get in touch, 'kay?"_

"Oh... Okay. That would be nice." The girly-boy knew how to fix bikes? Keigo wasn't too bad with changing a tire (he'd had lots of experience after all) but this time it was a bit too complicated for his taste. Would Szayel really be able to do anything?

_"I gotta go in again, or they'll think I did a runner. Got an exam in fifteen, so won't be able to chat later."_

"Okay, good luck on the exam! Write when you finish!"

_"Will do. Laters."_

They hung up after that, and Keigo couldn't stop the grin from getting wider - he must be looking like the Joker by the time he finally gets home.

* * *

"Ey, bitch, watch where ya're going!" snarled the apricot-haired middle-triplet, eyes thin as lines when he glared down at the short girl who had hurt his best friend, beaten him down to the core, before she jumped into bed with the older triplet. No, that wasn't entirely correct - she had jumped into bed with his minutes older brother _before_breaking Renji. Seriously, Shiro couldn't think of anyone he hated more than this egocentric bitch; did she even realize how she had nearly ruined his friendship with the redhead as well simply because he was the brother of her lover?

"I apologize, I didn't see you."

One thing was funny, though - Rukia was afraid of Shiro. She never had been able to maintain eye-contact for very long with him, and she never could stay in the same room as him unless there were someone more than them present. This suited him perfectly fine, seeing as he wouldn't exactly cry if she disappeared; he might cry out of joy if she did, though, but nothing else. He might feel a bit sad for Renji if his _'precious'_Rukia were to disappear, but he had no doubt what-so-ever that it would've been for the best. Renji simply doesn't know when to give up.

"If ya're gonna spend this much time 'ere, ya're gonna 'ave to stay clear of me, ya got that? Huh?" He couldn't resist now that he had her cornered like this - it was a perfect situation to intimidate her. He watched her nod, trying to act as if she wasn't affected by his intimidation-technique, but she couldn't fool him. "Good gal. Run along, now." He practically shoved her away from him, not even bothering to look if she'd tripped and fallen, but it sure sounded as if she'd hit the ground.

He didn't have time to care about bitches anyway - he had to practice on his drum-kit if he wanted to play on their graduation-ceremony and get full score in music-grades. Him and Renji were the only ones so far who were to participate, but they needed someone who could sing, and perhaps play a keyboard or guitar - a band isn't much with only drums and bass. In worst case, Renji could play the guitar, but the problem with a singer remained. Sure, Shiro could sing, but he preferred not to. Kensei might force some poor soul to join them, but Shiro rather decided on his own who he wanted to play with them. He would have to speak to Kensei (by the way, he's their teacher) and come to an agreement.

* * *

While you waited for your food to heat up in the microwave, you logged onto the BWV-community to find that you had a new message. From Jaegerjaquez? Peeking into your inbox, to your surprise, you find that the mail isn't from Jaegerjaquez, but from someone calling themself _'__FornicarásOctava'_. Who could that be? You opened the mail and read:

_**From: **__FornicarásOctava_

_**To: **__Delicate_Raizer_

_**Title:**__ Greetings_

_**Message:**_

**I was told by a certain -and-Mighty that your bicycle has been molested. For a fair price, I should be able to help you.**

**How damaged is your bicycle? We can come and repair it tomorrow, once we've gotten off hours, if that works for you. I will be quite busy the rest of the week.**

**Szayel A. Granz**

Whoa, Jaegerjaquez sure works fast! Somehow you hadn't doubted that he would, but you _had_doubted whether or not Szayel would actually bother to offer his help. Maybe he isn't as selfish and narcissistic as you thought he was - after all, appearance can deceive. Thought, this 'fair price' he mentioned might be something you wouldn't be able to afford; he doesn't strike you as a generous person. Even so, you formed a quick reply, telling him just how 'molested' your bike was, and asked what he thought was a fair price. If it was out of your leaggue, then you could simply tell him you'd fix the bike yourself. Once the reply was sent, you went into the dining-room to eat your dinner.

Your mother had been a little worried when you didn't get home at the usual time (not that she'd know when you usually came home anyway, she was rarely there) and your father had said something about _'kids today'_and sighed dramatically. Mm, a downside with having a businessman for a father is that he had certain standards he expects you to apply to, and tends to get very disappointed (angry, even) if the expectations aren't properly met. Likewise with your mother, she's always traveling with your father to uphold her role as a loving, caring wife; apparently businessmen thinks they are more popular if their wife pampers them in front of colleagues and rivals. What about being a loving, caring mother? Not that she doesn't love Keigo and his sister, but their father comes first.

You shouldn't really complain. At least you _have _parents, while some only have one or goes between homes after a difficult divorce or some other tragedy. That does not mean that you have to like everything about them, though. Having finished eating and done the dishing, you returned to your room to both do your homework and see if you had gotten a reply from Szayel yet. It seemed as if you had, and it also looked like someone had left you a message on your phone. Phone comes first, you decided, and quickly opened the new text-message, conveniently enough from a certain Jaegerjaquez.

_'Yo! Finally finished the exam (fucking hate those surprise-exams!). I know I passed. Keh, as if I'd flunk on something as easy as that! Anyway, I'm heading home to cuddle up on my couch with my kitties, and perhaps a few hours of gaming before introducing my face to the pillow. What are you up to? Got home safely? /Jaegerjaquez'_

How could you prevent the smile... Every time you found a message on your phone from Jaegerjaquez, a silly smile appeared on your face. It didn't even matter what he wrote anymore, because just knowing that he thinks about you is enough to make your day. Forming a reply, asking what the exam had been about, you then turned to read the message from Szayel.

_**From: **__FornicarásOctava_

_**To: **__Delicate_Raizer_

_**Title:**__ Greetings_

_**Message:**_

**That's an easy fix, I'll have it done in an hour or two. We will get the parts before coming over tomorrow. Now, about the payment... I can pay for the repairs if you do me a huge favour.**

**You see, I am a photographer, and I need a new subject for a job I'm trying to get. You'd save me big-time if you accept!**

**If you are insecure about this, I assure you it's nothing dangerous. In fact, you can see a few examples of pictures in my gallery - look under 'Subjects for Work' - and that is pretty much what I'll ask of you, in regards of photos.**

**Please, will you do this for me?**

**Szayel A. Granz**

...Photos? He's asking you to model for him as payment for repairing your bike? He would even buy the repair-parts himself? So much for not being generous... It made you feel terribly guilty for thinking so low of him earlier. Still, it wouldn't hurt to take a peek at those pictures he mentioned in his gallery before giving him your answer. He seems rather desperate, actually, making you wonder who's really helping whom, here, but if there is nothing fishy with the photos, then you might as well help him out. Why he would even consider using you as a subject for a job-interview, you have no idea - he must be crazy! - but it's not like it's your fault if he doesn't get the job.

The photos looked okay, nothing really strange about them except for that piece of bone he'd put on every participant on the pictures. Most of the models were people you had met, too - Jaegerjaquez, Ilforte, Tesla, and even Nnoitra - and a few others that you hadn't or might've met on the party. Well, if it would make him happy, if he thought it would be a fair trade, then you'd do it. What harm could it do?

_**From: **__Delicate_Raizer_

_**To: **__FornicarásOctava_

_**Title:**__ Greetings_

_**Message:**_

**Alright, I'll do it.**

**Uhm, am I to make enough food for you and whoever you're bringing tomorrow? I'll need to know so I can prepare.**

It would be rude if you didn't at least ask if they wanted dinner after coming all the way to help you. Your parents might question you later regarding your choice of friends, but they wouldn't embarrass you in front them (hopefully, anyway). Would Jaegerjaquez come too?

_**From: **__FornicarásOctava_

_**To: **__Delicate_Raizer_

_**Title:**__ Greetings_

_**Message:**_

**Splendid! I'll speak with you tomorrow regarding arrangements and dates.**

**Dinner would be appreciated if it isn't too much trouble. Mind you, I am not fond of soup, but anything else is acceptable. Don't feel pressured ;)**

**Szayel A. Granz**

Lucky for you, your school-day ends by three, so you'll be home around half past. Working people comes home around fiveish, which gives you time to prepare dinner for everyone. But first you need to clear it with your mother, of course.

"Mom!" You exit your room and finds her next to your father on the couch in the living-room. Right, two birds in one go, apparently. "Uhm, I thought I'd make dinner tomorrow, if that's alright with you. You see, my bicycle got into an accident, and a friend is coming over to help me fix it. I offered dinner, for the trouble of coming here." You always felt the need to explain everything, and no matter how much sense your reasons made, their minute-long silence afterwards always made you rethink.

"You need to be more careful with your cicycle," your father calmy stated after the minute of silence he had taken to think about what you had said (or make you change your mind, more likely). "This friend of yours, do I know him?" He means: _'do I know his parents'_.

"I don't think so."

"Hn. Very well." He was still reading the paper, as if the conversation with his son wasn't important enough to put it down even for a few seconds.

You glanced at your mother, whom nodded to let you know that she would leave the cooking to you, but she said nothing. This, too, was nothing out of the ordinary. You headed back into your room and picked up your cell-phone: it was flashing, which meant you'd gotten a message.

_'The exam was on economics, but it takes more than that to make me sweat. /J'_

Economics? It hit you then that you don't really know what Jaegerjaquez study on those evening-classes, and how does he have enough money for both education and the apartment? Not to mention, how can he afford having pets? All he does is sleep and play games besides evening-class. Right? Hrm, perhaps you need to ask more questions instead of expecting them to tell you everything on their own accord.

_'Economics aren't easy! What do you study, anyway? Oh, by the way, Szayel said he'd come by tomorrow to fix my bike. Will you be coming too? You can if you want to. /Keigo'_

After sending the reply-message, you tended to your homework. No matter how boring it was, it needed to be done, because it would do itself and you couldn't blame it on a dog if you didn't hand in the required papers in the morning. The only thing that interrupted you in your studying was the text-message you received on your phone, and that interruption was extremely welcomed.

_'Just a few business-associated courses, like economics, management, marketing, stuff like that. Really boring, actually, but something I have to do. __I'm kind of busy tomorrow, got another exam and an important meeting. Wish I could skip, though - would if I could - but I can't. Sorry. /J'_

How depressing that your best friend wouldn't be able to come, but considering the courses he takes you could understand that he has a lot to do. Especially now when the school-year is soon over; only four more months - these are usually the most busy months of the year. Which reminds you of your own necessary homework... It's about time you wrap it up for the evening, seeing as time has flown by so fast this day. That's mostly to blame on the long walk home, but tomorrow you would take the buss. Considering that not even the bullies in school had paid you any attention for a while (except for the bike today) you thought it might be safe to bring money to school for the buss and enough to shop for the dinner.

Speaking of which, what should you cook? Not soup, apparently. Perhaps something a bit more European? Szayel isn't originally from Japan, perhaps he would appreciate a stake of some sort? ...Would your father mind that Szayel is a foreigner? No, perhaps your mother would mind more on that subject. Maybe you should have told them before tomorrow, to avoid being embarrassed and avoid humiliating Szayel. But your parents rarely insulted anyone to their face, it should be safe; at least until the guests had left.

* * *

Apparently you had been wrong. You had only just gotten home, around 4 o'clock, when there was a knock at your door. It was none other than 'too-much-pink' Szayel and the least person you expected to see - 'the Grinch'. Both stood smiling (not in the friendly manner; but the creepy, skin-crawling, bone-rattling kind of way) and seemed very amused by your stunned expression.

"Is anyone home in there?" Szayel asked, waving his hand in front of your eyes, his crooked smile never leaving his lips. At the same time, Nnoitra reached out and knocked three times on top of your head, as if knocking on a door.

You had, maybe, expected Ilforte to accompany Szayel, or even someone you had never met, but definitely not Nnoitra. Those two were that close? Nnoitra only seemed to get along well with Tesla. Though, you did remember something about Nnoitra having to stay behind a year in school, which put him in the same class as Szayel - even so, you never expected to find those two on your doorstep, there to help you with your bike. However, the wave and the knocks brought you out of your shocked state, and a, perhaps a bit too high-pitched, embarrassed laugh escaped from your mouth.

"Ahahah, hello! I didn't expect you to arrive so soon!" Honestly, you hadn't even begun with making dinner yet. "Thought you worked regular hours..."

"Oh, we've been off work two hours already," Szayel informed, pushing his glasses higher up on his nose with a finger, in a very professory-kind-of-way. "I thought it best to wait until we knew you would be home from school." Makes sense, of course. "Now, if you don't mind, I'd like to get started on your bicycle."

"O-of course!"

* * *

You brought them into your garage, showed them the disaster - to which Nnoitra openly laughed - and then you were literally thrown out by Szayel, stating he needed peace and quiet while working. This resulted in both you and Nnoitra returning to your apartment. Much to your surprise, you were met by the large eyes of your mother, whom quite disrespectfully stared at Nnoitra (not that you blame her; it's not every day you meet a giant, after all). You expected Nnoitra to glare and snarl at her for her rudeness, but you nearly fell face first when he quite elegantly introduced himself, without attempting to bite her head off.

"Hello ma'am. I'm Jiruga, Nnoitra." He even bowed his head a little to show respect. Is this really the same Grinch that you knew? Maybe even _this_Grinch has a heart, then... Now that you thought about it, you had come to that conclusion once before, too - when Nnoitra admitted that he couldn't hurt a cat that clearly loves him; but that he would have if the cat had hated him.

"Uhm, this is my mother," you forced out when it was clear that your mother couldn't speak. "Mom?" This worried you. "Mother?" You walked up to her and held her arm in a loose grip; this made her jump a bit, but at least she 'came back' to both of you.

"Oh, I apologize," she offered innocently. "Hello." She bowed slightly, respectfully, towards Nnoitra. She then turned back to you. "Do you need any help with making dinner?"

"Oh, dinner!" You had forgotten again... "Uh, no, I'll manage." But what to do with Nnoitra? He was watching you with a crooked grin, as if aware of your thoughts. "Uhm, do you-"

"I'll hang in yer room, coz I ain't goin' near a kitchen." He leaned forward, putting on a very serious expression. "I'm a health-risk."

"Ah, heheheh..." He's just as bad as Jaegerjaquez, then. That settles it then! "Sure, I'll take you to my room!"

He followed you into your room, and you told him that he was free to do what he wanted while you made dinner - his choice of action was something you hadn't expected. He took one quick glance at your room, noted the computer was on, and that you had a lot of games to play if he wanted to, but then he went straight for the bed, threw himself on it (his legs dangling outside the edge of it) and buried his face i nyour pillow. Huh?

"I'll nap 'til ya're finished."

Well, you had, sort of, told him he could do whatever he wanted to, but _napping_ on _you bed_ hadn't really been on your mind as you worded the offer. Actually, it was quite scary to watch the Grinch lying down on your bed. Would the bed smell like him later? Maybe you'd have nightmares about it, waking up in belief that _he_ was in the bed with you, snoring, or gnawing on your bones... You could barely suppress the shudder.

* * *

Dinner went better than expected, actually. Keigo's steak was a success, everyone ate happily, and despite a few glances at the two odd guests, no one said anything inappropriate. Well, that might be because the moment Szayel introduced himself to Keigo's father, it was as if a miracle had happened - his father's eyes grew large as plates, and he treated the pink-haired person with out-most respect and finesse. Why? Keigo had no idea, and he didn't want to seem daft by asking - it's his 'friend', after all, he should know already what could've possibly made his father brighten up like that. However, he _didn't_know. He would ask later, but he'd rather ask Jaegerjaquez and avoid being laughed at. Even Nnoitra behaved himself, though he did glare a few daggers at Keigo's sister, whom had a hard time to believe that her brother would be friends with two such strange persons. Oh, at least she didn't fall in love with either of them (thank god for that).

After the dinner, Keigo brought his two guests into his room again, Nnoitra immediately occupying his bed, while Szayel remained standing like a proper guest, only taking a seat at the desk-chair after Keigo said he was welcome to sit down. The brunette picked a spot on the floor, feeling strangely childish now that he had friends in his room - besides Jaegerjaquez' visit, it was years since he last had brought a friend home; at least it felt like years. Now, judging by the devious look Szayel was giving Keigo, it could only mean he wanted to discuss business.

"Friday and Saturday," Szayel said out of the blue after a few minutes of silence (not counting the soft snores coming from the person on the bed). "Of course, you'll need to go see my associate tomorrow, seeing as it is Tuesday today. And then-"

"W-wait!" Keigo was, to say the least, confused. What's the big deal? A few snaps, wasn't that all Szayel wanted? What's with all the dates? "What's supposed to happen?" He almost felt like he was waiting to get the verdict from a doctor; perhaps he truly _h__ad _signed his death-wish!

"Preparations, of course." The pink-haired male flipped a finger through his hair. "Clothes has to be decided, accessories, a scene for the shots, not to mention your mask."

"Mask?"

"And on Friday and Saturday we'll wrap it all up." The smile was turning creepy, and the pale amber eyes shone through the glasses. "Come Monday, I have to go to the job-interview." No wonder he was desperate to get a subject... "What time does school end tomorrow?"

"Th-three thirty."

"I'll pick you up outside your school if you give me directions." Szayel glanced at the sleeping form of his companion. "I'll take his car, that way we can put your bicycle in the back - it wont fit in mine, seeing as I don't have a trunk."

...This was a bit more than Keigo _thought _he'd bargained for...

* * *

Much later, when Keigo had gone to bed and prepared to sleep, all the while avoiding to inhale too deeply in case he'd catch the fragments of Nnoitra that might linger on his pillows, his phone started ringing. It was Jaegerjaquez... They hadn't spoken all day, but Keigo had been too busy and confused to really give it much thought. It brought a smile to his face, though.

_"Yo, how'd it go?"_

"Great! My bike is revived, I don't have to catch the buss tomorrow morning, but..." His smile turned sheepish. "I think I might've signed my death-wish."

_"How so?"_

"Well, I made a deal with Szayel." Silence on the other end signaled for Keigo to go on. "Modelling for some shots." Almost immediately, Jaegerjaquez burst into laughter. "What? It's not funny! He's going to pull me around the rest of the week! I'm literally his puppet!"

_"Heh, well, I'm sure it'll be fine."_

"Mm, I hope so." Still, Keigo felt more nervous than he had done in years. "How was your day? Did the meeting go well?"

_"Yeah, I guess. Not sure about the exam, though."_

"Oh." What was it about talking with Jaegerjaquez that made all the worries in the world seemingly diminish? No matter what the subject, Keigo felt relieved. That is, until he remembered a certain something that he wanted to ask him about. "By the way... Do you have any idea what could have made my father so jumpy and nervous the moment Szayel introduced himself? It was as if he was dining with the president of the United States, or something!"

A long silence followed, in which Keigo believed the other had hung up on him, but that thought was immediately thrown out the window when the bluehaired male on the other end of the line started laughing his butt off. What had Keigo missed?

"Great, the world is going crazy, and I'm the only sane one left..." he mumbled into the mouthpiece of his phone, before settling down on his pillow to wait for the other to stop his insane barking.

* * *

**\A:N/**

Hrm, this was rather unexpected, right?

Why do you think Keigo's father reacted that way towards Szayel?

What horrors do you imagine is waiting for poor Keigo? Will he survive?

Tell me your thoughts about all of this, I'm curious to know.

**REVIEW **plz ^^

/Namantos


	11. Chapter 11

**Thank you all for the great support and encouragement! Love ya'll! ^^**

Chapter 11 - longer than I had expected (blame my muse!) and hopefully not as much misspellings in here (but I bet there are quite a few of them anyway; I still haven't fixed my 'checker')

I hope you will all enjoy the reading, and that you're not put off by the length of the chapter.

* * *

**UNPREDICTABLE**

* * *

As promised, the pink-haired _billionaire_ was waiting for you just outside the school-gates. Yes, that's correct - _billionaire!_ You're associated with a billionaire and you hadn't even known it! Correction: _two_billionaires! That sure explains alot... Like, their well-manicured hands, the way they dress and speak, their body-language, just about _everything_. Maybe they aren't as narcissistic as you had assumed; it may just be because they were brought up to act that way. Well, it's a _big _maybe. No, they definitely _are_narcissistic. And arrogant... 'slightly' bad-ass, and definitely freaky. Billionaires... Now your father's reaction makes perfect sense. _'A wealthy family from Schwitzerland'_Jaegerjaquez had said last night when you had asked him - _after _he had laughed his ass off. Yes, of course, the moment someone with money or power shows up, your father is all over them; he says he wants to make a good impression. Anyway, no matter how much you wanted to ask Szayel why he hadn't mentioned anything about his wealth, you wouldn't because it would be intruding on his personal life. Besides, you are somewhat closer to his brother, aren't you? At least Ilforte isn't _pink_; yellow is just so much better!

How can anyone have pink hair and _not_end up as an eternal victim to the world's BSF? BSF is (_for those unaccustomed to Keigo's wit_) the shortened version of _Bullies Special Forces_. Even _you _find it hilarious and might've even been able to laugh if the pink-haired _billionaire_hadn't had a perfectly scary 'guard' most of the time - namely a huge Grinch. Speaking of which, isn't it quite odd that Nnoitra (whom seems to find a lot of things amusing enough to make fun of) _isn't _making fun of pink hair? He doesn't exactly strike you as a person who appreciates the colour, nor does he remind you of someone who _wouldn't _oppose to being in the obvious company of a feminine male with strange taste and a weird sense of humor. Hrm, maybe he's simply used to Szayel's eccentric personality. No matter, you are currently terrified of where _'Pinky'_ is taking you, and of what he plans to do to you. You should have never accepted this trade, shouldn't have fallen for the easy way out of fixing your bike on your own. This is the penalty you get for returning a favour.

"Sure taught me a thing or two about being kind," you mumbled for yourself, trying to figure out where he was taking you by looking at the stores and signs you passed.

"Did you say something?"

"Eh..." Gulp. "N-no, I was just... No, I didn't say a thing!" Mumbling really is a bad habit... This is something you have to remember to inform Jaeagerjaquez of as well.

"Hm, must have been the radio, then." Only... the radio wasn't on, and Szayel was aware of that. Did that mean he heard what you said? Even if he did, he couldn't possibly know what was going through your head right now. Right? How much longer is he going to drive, though? "We are almost there."

...Pale as a ghost, staring at the pink-haired driver, you couldn't believe what you had just found out. Not only is he a billionaire, but he is also a _mind-reader!_

"Are you feeling well, Kei-kun?" You thought he almost looked worried, but your own fear might be clouding your eyes - how does one shut off a mind-reader, prevent him from reading your mind? Is something like that even possible? It's unreal! Just like his hair, it's completely ridiculous!

* * *

At the same time, a pineapple and an apricot was crossing a road, passing an elderly lady with a walking frame and crossing paths with a young mother pushing a perambulator before her and holding a young toddler's slippery hand in her free hand. The girl could've been mistaken as the older sister if it wasn't for the fact that the toddler constantly called her _'mommy'_; she couldn't have been old when she'd gotten her first child, something that made Renji think of his own family-situation. People are too young when they get children these days... Through the corner of his eyes, he saw that his companion at least agreed on that much, if that frown was any indicator at all. On the contrary to what most believe, it actually does take quite a lot to make Shiro frown.

They had just passed the street and gotten up on the sidewalk when they heard the young female shout. Turning back, they saw that the toddler had gotten free from the mother's grip and was running back out on the street. It would have been alright if the old lady had been going in the same direction, because she was effectively stopping the traffic on their side of the street, but there was nothing on the other half of the road that would stop the cars - in such a busy intersection, it's not easy to spot a small toddler running out on the road. It all happened so fast, because Renji is quite fast - within a few seconds, he had run out on the street and grabbed the now crying toddler that could be about three years old. The boy was not happy at all to be picked up by some stranger, kicking and flailing to be let down, screaming for his mother, but Renji held on tight, watching as cars began to pass by on either side of him, honking at him as if he was an idiot for standing in the middle of the road like that.

It took a few minutes before the traffic was stopped by the lights and Renji could safely pass the street back to the waiting young female. She was eternally grateful, and scolded her son, but the toddler had already forgotten what he had done wrong, only remembering that he was crying beause the redheaded stranger had picked him up. As the female walked away again, Renji could tell she was holding onto the boy even harder than before, constantly repeating _'no'_whenever the boy tried to take off in another direction. Kids... Well, Renji was relieved that he had been able to save the child; he would've never been able to forgive himself if something had happened.

Shiro was waiting for him on the other side of the road, a huge grin plastered on his face. He wasn't surprised by Renji's actions, and he was satisfied with the outcome, though he definitely thought that toddlers should be kept on a leash or safely inside a cage somewhere. Name-tags would be a plus, just in case they still managed to escape somehow.

"How does it feel to be the hero of the day?" he grinned as Renji joined him on the sidewalk, chuckling at the embarrassed blush on Renji's cheeks, which was now matching his hair. "Wan' an ice-cream as reward?"

"Hey, I'm not a kid!" Renji defended, trying to fight his blush away by turning his face away.

"Keheh! Come on, 's my treat."

* * *

"Aaah! Yu-Yu-Yumichika?" Keigo pointed stupidly with his mouth agape; he was completely speachless.

Szayel had brought him to Kagamino City, into a building selling high-priced clothes and accessories and what-not, and presented him to a person Keigo already knew. Said person had long black-purplish hair, tied loosely in the back and much shorter in the front, ending in chin-long bangs pushed to the side to show his too pretty face for any male to find acceptable. Though, this person was highly narcissistic - even more so than Szayel (no one can be compared with Yumichika!) - and proved his point by putting on accessories in the forms of feathers; two orange feathers extending from his eyebrow, and two yellow ones extending from his eyelashes, both on his right side. Seriously, no man would ever consider wearing anything like that! And as much as Szayel was pink, Yumichika was _purple_.

"Oh, Mizuho's little brother. I didn't know you were into modelling." Yumichika eyed Keigo with a critical eye, clearly not pleased. "Honestly, Szayel, are you so desperate that you would sink this low? How do you expect me to make something like _that_ presentable?"

"That, Yumi-kun, I will leave all up to you." Szayel patted Yumichika's shoulder encouragingly. "I'm counting on you."

"Oh..." A deep sigh was emitted from the feathery male. "Right, then." Purple, determined eyes was directed towards Keigo, whom by now had stopped pointing but otherwise remained frozen in his confused state. "'Mizuho's brother', we don't have all day - hurry up and get over here! We've got _a lot_ to do..."

But moving was easier said than done. Only one thought was running through the brunettes mind: _'Yumichika is Szayel's associate? I'm so dead!'_

* * *

Yellow clashed with light brown, dark brown with deep blue, and either one of them were able to break the clash. It had been a very bad choice of glass-bar on Shiro's behalf... In fact, he couldn't think of a better way to ruin the day. If he'd had any say in whom he'd share his womb with, it definitely wouldn't have been with _him_; not after everything he had done. He had turned everything that used to be so easy and relaxed into something tense and difficult - no matter where they went, a tuft of orange or a shimmer of black haunted them. His brother had been such a stupid fuck to ruin something that had been so good. He could tell in the eyes of his brother that he agreed, that this situation had turned chaotic; the question remained if he realized that he was partly to blame for that. Probably not, though; Ichigo always had that attitude of _'I'm-right-and-you're-wrong-no-matter-what-you-say-coz-I-had-a-good-reason-and-you-don't'_. Sure, Shiro would admit that Ichigo had his good points, but at the moment, those points weren't worth much; he kind of flushed them down the toilet when he started cheating.

Shiro was the first to move, and he pulled a depressed-looking Renji with him to the line for an ice-cream; the redhead had been all smiles and laughs as they'd walked there, but now that smile was rubbed off, replaced by that blank sadness Shiro hated so much. Renji isn't supposed to be depressed, he's supposed to be easy-going and laughing - on that aspect, Shiro failed as a friend, for being unable to keep the other in that cheerful state. And he blamed himself for being partly to blame for his broken heart. If he hadn't told Renji that Rukia cheated, if he'd instead forced Rukia to simply break up with him, then maybe it wouldn't have been this difficult now. Then maybe they could have been in the same room without Renji looking as if his world had crumbled to dust.

"Oi, what ya want?" Shiro asked, hitting Renji's upper arm to get his attention.

"Huh?" The redhead stared at Shiro as if he had no clue what he was talking about, but then he remembered. "Oh, ice-cream! Eh, I'll have... Hrm, let's see..."

Ichigo and Rukia was still sitting in a tense silence, looking at the two males as they ordered their ice-cream. Even as they were leaving, actually, and even though Renji had put on a fake smile for Shiro's sake, it was so _obviously_ fake it hurt. The middle triplet would have been an idiot not to notice, and he may be an asshole as best, but he does not want to eat ice-cream in a depressing company.

"Oi, ya sure ya wanna eat that?" he said, pointing at Renji's green and purple ice-cream. "Looks like pukes."

"..." Renji stared at his ice-cream with a deadpan expression, before glaring right back at Shiro's yellow and brown ice-cream. "Oh yeah? Well, yours looks like it has been dipped in a toilet-seat."

They glared at each other, both seemingly forgetting about the two pair of eyes that was watching them, before they simultaneously stuck out their tongues and licked at their own ice-cream.

"Tastes delicious, though," they said in unison, grinning like mad as they left the glass-bar to eat their ice-creams out in the open, even though it honestly was too cold outside.

* * *

There is no need to go into detail of all the horrors poor Keigo bravely met that day; just imagine how _you _would feel being scrutinized by two perfectionists, pushed in and out of a dressing room, measured all over and forced to try out different cosmetics. One minute into the "torture" and Keigo had tried to escape through the door, only to end up in a dead-lock by both the purple and the pink feminine yet manly males; they were a lot stronger than Keigo had anticipated. His attempts to get away varied from bursting out of the room to hiding under a table, but in the end it was all futile; he was literally being manhandled, which was a huge blow to his already low ego. No one would think it's more dignified to crawl into a small ball beneath a table rather than allow himself to wear just a tiny bit of makeup, but Keigo thought it was a blow as low as his mid-section and totally worth crying over. They were being really _ruthless_, and Keigo feared for his life for the few coming days when he would be under their mercy (which _isn't_ merciful at all!).

They had stopped to eat pizza simply because the hour was late and both of them were hungry (yes, Szayel can eat pizza without complaints) and were now on their way to Keigo's. Needless to say, but the brunette had a constant blush on his cheeks, caused by the extreme humiliation he had suffered that day, and he had a big trouble with coming up with a good enough lie to cover for all of this - he can't really come home and say that he's been trying out clothes and makeup all day and posed in front of two other men, now, can he. Only problem is, Keigo sucks at lies.

"So how do you know Yumichika?" Szayel asked as he was driving, keeping his eyes on the road.

"Huh?" Keigo looked over at the pink-haired man, for a moment confused, then a lightbulb lit above his head. "Oh, Yumichika! Well, his friend dated my sister a while back." His face twisted into one of wonder. "Don't know why _I _had to hang out with Yumi, though... Or what he was doing in our apartment in the first place."

Keigo hadn't minded, though. That was back when he became more and more lonely in school, feeling useless and contemplated the meaning of his life - that's why, when Yumichika occupied his room when he got home, he actually felt a bit relieved not to be alone. They didn't do much together, simply lounged in his room doing different things and rarely speaking, but it was at least (a much needed) company. He wondered if Yumichika knew exactly how important his visits had been for Keigo... It was only a shame that it hadn't lasted longer between his sister and Yumi's friend.

Despite it being dark already, Keigo knew they weren't anywhere close to his home yet, but Szayel was parking the car on a parking-lot outside a three-floor high building. It clerly wasn't apartments, but there were no signs indication what it was either. Keigo was perplexed; weren't they ready for today? No more torture, right?

"What are we doing here?" he asked the smug-looking photographer.

"Waiting."

"... For what?" He felt as if a cold hand had run sharp nails down his spine and was prepared to jump out of the car and escape on foot if he needed to. Like a frightened animal cornered by a hungry predator, Keigo followed Szayel's every move with his wide eyes; one slender finger left it's resting-place on the steering-wheel and pointed. Keigo followed the indicated direction with his eyes, turning to look out through the window on his side of the car, noting that people were coming out of the building. He still didn't know what they were waiting for, but he'd be damned if he asked the pink-haired mind-reader; he probably already knew exactly what was on his mind anyway.

As the crowd of people got thinner, there was a lone figure walking towards their car. Said person was tall and wearing a dark hoody that hid his face completely in the darkness, followed by a pair of dark jeans and black shoes. A shoulder-bag was flung carelessly behind his left shoulder, as if whatever was in it meant nothing to the owner. And soon enough Keigo could see, through the pale light emitted from a street-lamp some feet away, a lock of hair with quite a peculiar colour: light blue. Immediately his eyes grew wide and he stared at Szayel's smirking face.

"Jaegerjaquez?" Though he received no verbal response, he already knew the answer. "You could have told me we were meeting him here!" Restored energy bubbled up and he couldn't suppress the goofy smile that appeared as the backdoor was opened. "Jaegerjaquez!"

"Yo," the blue-haired male greeted, pulling down the hoody from his head, exposing a grin only he could master. His electric-blue eyes met Keigo's brown-tinted-with-green. "How'd the preparations go?"

"Ie~ah, don't ask!" Keigo exclaimed exhausted.

"It went well," Szayel proclaimed as he started up the car. "I believe the shooting will be a great success; nothing less would please Yumichika's pride. And we better not disappoint him." He gave Keigo a pointed look. "He is scary when he is upset."

"Meh, I don't think ya need to worry." Flinging his arms around the passenger front seat, Jaegerjaqez trapped the brunette between the seat and his arms, ignoring the startled yelp. He leaned his chin on the seat next to Keigo's head and watched the road as they drove off. "I'll save ya if they're mean." He winked at Keigo, whom renewed the blush that had begun to subside while they were waiting in the car.

"So, where to?" the photographer suddenly asked, causing both Keigo and Grimmjow to glance at him. "To Grimm's or Kei's? I am fairly certain that Grimm's bed is big enough for two and that he's not against sharing."

The indication of the words hit Keigo like a ton of bricks, deepening the blush to an angry red that reached even the tip of his ears. He wasn't even able to make a comeback, he was that embarrassed! Even Jaegerjaquez' grip around the seat and Keigo had momentarily tensed, and his eyes had grown hard, glaring daggers at the driver. There was just no excuse for a comment like that!

"Oi, shut that trap-hole before I fill it with something disgusting," he warned, which only made the pink-haired chuckle. Snorting, Jaegerjaquez turned his now gentle eyes towards the frozen brunette. "Hey, don't listen to the idiot, he's just jealous coz' he ain't welcome anywhere _near _my bedroom."

"I am not!" Szayel defended.

"Are too."

"Definitely not!"

"You are!"

While the two of them argued, Keigo managed to smile. Even though he had been caught off guard by that statement, he was relieved the moment the tense atmosphere was turned into this friendly banter. Nothing seemed to be complicated around these people, which made him fit in just the slightest bit more since he isn't a complicated person himself. Well, _they _might be 'complicated people', but the situations they end up in are so easily shrugged off that it makes them appear so simple. Not 'uncaring', just... easy-going.

The strong arms resting across his chest felt quite comforting, protective, and warm compared to the weather this time of year. If he could keep them as a jacket, he would have never let them go. But that thought made him feel stupid, even a little embarrassed, and he never voiced it out loud. Besides... why was Jaegerjaquez still holding him? The bluenette and pinkette had stopped bickering a while ago now, and they were nearly at Keigo's home. Regardless, Keigo was far too comfortable to care, and snuggled into the warmth of the seat and the arms, closing his eyes contently. If he had kept his eyes open, he might have seen the glances he got from the other two occupants of the car, but he remained safely unknowing of what went on inside their minds; the only thing he acknowledged was that the arms remained tightly around him. He felt only a little guilty for placing Jaegerjaquez in such an uncomfortable position, but the bluehaired male didn't complain. But... all joy must be crushed like a bug beneath a heavy boot - Keigo's phone started ringing, startling him enough to yelp and jump in his seat, nearly hitting his head in the roof of the car, and the saddest of it all was that the arms around him dropped away from him. In fact, Jaegerjaquez had been just as startled by the phone as Keigo, only instead of hitting his head on the roof, he fell backwards in his seat, now breathing a little faster than before and staring at his own reflection in the rear-view mirror. Szayel... well, he was smirking at the whole ordeal.

"H-hello?" Keigo mumbled into the mouthpiece once he had managed to dig his phone out of his pocket.

_"Keigo, where the hell are you? You know it's a school-evening, you should not be out at this hour!"_

"Dad!" Shit, now he was in trouble. "I-I'm home in a few minutes, dad, I promise!" He felt how hard his heart was beating and prayed to whatever god might listen that it wasn't loud enough for the others to hear it too.

_"Where have you been all day? You didn't say you'd be gone!"_

"I... I've been with Szayel!" Through the corner of his eye, Keigo could see the looks he was given by both Szayel and Jaegerjaquez; they were clearly confused by the way the phone-call progressed. And as if that wasn't enough, he felt the tense atmosphere beginning to strangle him.

_"Sza-... Oh, you've been with mr. Granz!"_That sure changed the tone of mr. Asano. _"Why didn't you say so?"_

"I... didn't think I needed to." That's the simple truth. His father never cared much about what he did otherwise, so why should he start to care now? Since it's in the middle of a busy school-week, it was only logical that his father would wonder where his son was at this hour (oh, come on, it's only eight forty!) but he didn't need to be so upset about it. "He's driving me home, so we'll be there soon."

_"Why don't you invite him for coffee? After all the trouble of driving you home, that's the least you could do, Keigo!"_

"Uhm..." Actually, the least he could do was lock himself into his room and refuse to go out again as long as Szayel was there to torture him, but he neglected to tell his father about that part. He wasn't so sure he wanted to invite the scary pinkette for coffee... "Fine, I'll ask. Bye, dad." With that he hung up, swallowed the thick lump of nervousness, and directed his moonshaped, closed eyes towards the driver, a fake smile set in place. "That was my dad. He wants to invite you for coffee." He didn't mention the other part, about it being the least he could do for the trouble of driving him home, for that would awake too many questions.

"Coffee?" Szayel gave it some thought, then turned his eyes to the still shocked bluehaired male in the backseat, locking eyes through the rear-view window. "What do you say, Grimm? Up for a coffee?"

"Sure," Jaegerjaquez replied, not quite sure what he agreed to as he hadn't been listening all that much.

"Alright. We'll accompany you, Kei-kun."

It was really hard to keep up the fake smile, but Keigo made a brave attempt. All he wished for as a reward was those arms back around him - but sadly, they never came.

* * *

"Did ya've ta stare at us that way?" Narrowed yellow eyes pinned the orange strawberry to the spot he was currently standing on. It's not easy to live under the same roof as the source of your headache, and Shiro was on the brink of losing the fight - no amount of painkillers could erase the pain caused by too much frowning. Heh, Ichigo should know that... Usually Shiro is all grins and laughs, but lately he's been looking too much like his older brother.

"What are you talking about?" Ichigo retorted, frowning (he was born with a frown, remember?). "You were the ones who came in and made it all tense. We had a great time until then."

"'m s'posed ta feel sorry for ya?" If it hadn't hurt Renji so bad, he'd purposefully followed Ichigo and Rukia around, for that simple reason to make them unhappy. "Ma would turn in her grave if she knew what ya'd done. Cheater."

"Che, it takes two to tango."

"Aye, an' 'least _three _more were affected by yer waltz."

"Look, Shiro, you can't help who you fall in love with!" By now, Ichigo had a dangerous gleam in his eyes, focusing all of that anger at his minutes younger brother. "In love, people are bound to get hurt."

"Ya don't have to tare others' hearts out and stomp on it right in front of 'em, though!"

"Since when did _you_ get so sincere and righteous? You're no saint yourself, you know."

"Haven't cheated yet, an' don't plan on doing it."

"Yeah, well, I doubt you'll get an award for that." Ichigo snorted and flipped the other off. "Just stay away from us."

Shiro truly wished that he could comply, but wherever he went something reminded him of Ichigo or Rukia, or what had once been between all of them. And every time Renji was with him, he could see the hurt from the deceit; it was eating him alive, leaving only a pile of broken bones and shattered dreams. Shiro'd never do anything like that to a friend, ever! It's unforgivable! And he'd never forgive Ichigo for hurting Renji, and he'll always despise Rukia; the bitch who tore his family apart.

* * *

Jaegerjaquez had finally gotten over his earlier shock when he realized what he had agreed to and bounced straight back into wonderland. He was going to meet Keigo's parents and drink coffee with them, and it was already nine hundred hours in the evening. He wasn't good with parents... And he was tired from having had another exam that evening, _and_a businessmeeting that had gone down the drain for that simple reason that the man he met had a very twisted view on the subject of their meeting. Needless to say, but Jaegerjaquez had flipped him off and probably earned an enemy for future concerns. Even so, if h_e_ was nervous, then _Keigo_was a wreck. Last time it had been Nnoitra - this time it was Jaegerjaquez. Somehow, he was more worried this time, because he hadn't really cared whether his parents accepted Nnoitra or not, but if they didn't accept Jaegerjaquez... he would fall into a pit of despair and never get up again. At least Nnoitra is japanese, but Jaegerjaquez isn't... Szayel, on the other hand, was clearly amused, standing to the side with a smile, waiting while Jaegerjaquez helped Keigo get the bicycle out of the trunk.

"So..." Jaegerjaquez glanced at the brunette as they put his bike in the garage. "Do you think they'll be busy enough sucking up for Szayel so that I can pop into your room and hide?" It was rare for him to admit he was slightly unnerved, but under the circumstances he didn't think Keigo would mind his moment of weakness.

"Eh?" At least Keigo wasn't the only one thinking of a good retreat. Only, it wouldn't be that easy to 'pop into his room' an stay there until it was time for them to leave; his father would make sure of that. "I, eh... My dad will probably not like that."

"Don't worry." Both Keigo and Jaegerjaquez looked over at Szayel. "I will uphold them, if the two of you want some privacy."

"Really?" Keigo had completely missed the indication of _'privacy'_, but then he didn't see the look on Jaegerjaquez face either.

"Of course I will, if that is your wish."

"Yay! Yes, please, I'll behave so well for those photos if you do this for me, you have my word!"

"I expect you to behave even if I _don't_do this, but I will." The pinkhaired male smirked smugly. "Besides, your father is quite interesting, a good judge of character." Keigo could've argued against that logic, but decided not to - after all, Szayel would be doing him a favour! He could sneak into his room without being scolded, and he didn't have to watch his father kiss the feet of the feminine-looking male - the mere thought of it was sickening. "How long do you need?"

"Huh?"

"How long shall I keep your parents busy?" Rephrasing the sentence, Szayel caught a glimpse of Jaegerjaquez' glare, but that did little to faze him.

"Uhm, as long as you're willing to stay?" Keigo tried, sounding small and confused.

"Fair enough. Now... Let's go face the mob."

With Keigo taking front, Szayel close behind him and Jaegerjaquez a few steps behind, they headed for the front door leading into the Asano-household; one with a nervous smile, the other with a sly smirk, and the last completely blank.

* * *

He stared, and he glared, he growled and he shoved, but _nothing_got the point across - the woman is too thick-headed for her own good sometimes. And too damn stubborn. At least, that's what Nnoitra had decided. What's so damn hard to understand? It's _his_ apartment, it's _late_if you have to get up at five thirty in the morning, and she is nothing more than an annoying bitch who lives next door. What does he have to do to get rid of her, threaten to puncture her breasts with a butter-knife? At least then he wouldn't need to look at them anymore; and he _wasn't_ looking intentionally - they were simply too hard to miss. She wasn't even saying anything, just stand there and look at him - and it's driving him nuts!

"Look, woman, if ya ain't got shit to say, then bug off - and _stay_ gone."

"Can't do that," the 'woman' replied, calmly eyeing the tall blackhaired man, ignoring his unfriendliness. "I have to look after those less fortunate."

"_Less fo_-... Grr..." Sometimes Nnoitra wanted to kill something, and sometimes the urge was just too strong. He's not an idiot - he knows he will be locked up if he gives in to that urge; and she's just not worth going to jail for - but if he doesn't get rid of her soon, he really _will_ kill her. Question is: what's a better solution - killing her and going to jail for a few years, or let her ruin his 'free' life? Right now he didn't have an answer to that. "Just get the hell out of here, bitch. Ya know where the door is."

"I'm only worried about you, Nnoitra." Light mocha eyes, framed by thick lashes and strands of green hair, rested on Nnoitra's tense body, obviously not frightened by the male's snappy remarks and unfriendly posture. "I can tell when you're not feeling well. I can not ignore-"

"I feel peachy!" Raising to his full height, he tried to intimidate the shorter female, but she didn't even flinch. If anything was driving him insane, it was her. "You've checked, I've told ya, ya can sleep well tonight. Now _leave_, Nel."

"I will." She looked him over once more with her expressionless face, making sure she hadn't missed anything that could indicate anything was wrong. She nodded more to herself than to him before turning around to leave. "If you need anything, I'll be next door."

"In _your_ apartment, yeah, I friggin' _know!_" He shoved her out the door. "Good riddance!" He quickly closed the door and locked it for safety from the green-haired beast next door. Looks like he didn't have to become a murderer this evening either.

* * *

"Oh, Granz-sama! How nice to see you again!"

"Likewise, mister Asano-san." Szayel gracefully bowed his head in a slight show of respect. He stepped aside to give Grimmjow the 'stage'. "This is my good friend: Jaegerjaquez, Grimmjow. I hope you do not mind that I brought him with me."

"O-of course not!" Keigo's father quickly responded. Eyeing the tall blue-haired male (quite unimpressed, but put a fake mask of acceptance on in front of the young billionaire) he finally stretched his hand out towards the guest. "Welcome, Jaegerjaquez-san."

"Eh..." Looking between the outstretched hand and Szayel to his right and Keigo to his right, he felt an elbow in his side (the pinkhaired's sharp elbow, mind you) and finally managed to raise his blue orbs to meet Asano-san's brown ones. "T-thanks, Asano-san. Pleasure to meet you." He shook the older man's hand, but felt out of place and wasn't sure what he should do with himself. Though, when his eyes clashed with the green ones of Keigo's mother, he snapped out of it and (actually forgetting what country he was currently in) and bowed respectfully. "Bondjoû, ma'am. Cmint daloz?" ...Only, he realized his mistake the moment the words had left his mouth. He just knew it - they'd hate him.

Electric blue orbs slowly shimmered over each occupant of the hallway - they were all staring at him in both fascination and mortification; _crucified_, that's how Grimmjow felt, and his own stupidity had been the hammer hitting the nails deep into his flesh against that pole. He felt like such an idiot.

"Oh my goodness!" Keigo's mother exclaimed, hands before her mouth and eyes large and watery. She startled all the others, seeing as she was always so calm and collected, and silent - she had turned into an older, female version of Keigo. She practically jumped into Grimmjow's face. "I love that language! I am fine, thank you! Oh, I wish I could reply on the same tongue, but I'm rubbish at it..."

"Eh..." Jaegerjaquez blinked in his stupor, unable to comprehend the situation. "I, eh..."

"What are you doing, my dear?" Keigo's father exclaimed in horror, but at the same time also impressed by Jaegerjaquez greeting. He actually pulled her out of Grimmjow's face and reminded her of the coffee they had promised their guests. "Please, enter through here, the coffee is ready to be served."

"Oh, if you don't mind, Asano-san, these two have important matters to discuss." Szayel actually pushed Jaegerjaquez and Keigo to the side. "Why don't we let them take care of their business in your son's room while we drink that coffee?"

"...I suppose that's in order." But he tossed a curious glance at his son, trying to decipher what 'important matters' his son could have to discuss with such a well-spoken young man. Besides, it gave him some more time to get on the good side of the billionaire.

"Excellent." Szayel waited until Keigo's parents had started walking off before he jumped passed Jaegerjaquez and leaned over Keigo's shoulders with a wicked grin. "Now, go ravish the beast, but don't take too long."

"R-ravish?" Keigo's eyes grew to the size of pizza-plates.

"Oi!" The pinkette was pulled off of Keigo and replaced by a bluenette, frowning and still slightly in shock. "Ignore the idiot." He began pushing Keigo in front of himself, not stopping until they reached the brunette' s room. Before he stopped, he closed the door behind them. "Shit, I made a fool of myself there, didn't I?" he asked, still turned towards the door.

"Uhm, actually, I've never seen my mother act that way," Keigo admitted, taking a seat on his bed. His mother was always reserved and cautious, never jumping into fan-mode like that; well, until now, that is. "What language was that, anyway?"

"It's Walloon." He turned around to face the confused brunette, a smirk plastered on his face as he approached the younger male in a predatory way. "It's a Romance language, kinda French dialect, spoken mainly in Belgium." He stopped a few steps in front of Keigo, slouching in his own personal way, looking both relaxed and dominant at the same time. The question was written all over Keigo's face, which only made the smirk grow into a feral grin. "I'm from Belgium."

"Wow, that's really far from here..." Keigo had never really wondered where Jaegerjaquez originated from, because it didn't matter. But now he felt a little stupid that he'd never even asked. In fact, he doesn't know much at all about his blue-haired friend, only that they like the same games and things like that. "You're not a billionaire aswell, are you?" Somehow he didn't want to be left in the dark about those things; it made him look stupid in front of his father.

"Heh, nah, not really."

"Not keeping anything important from me?"

"Not really." Jaegerjaquez shrugged. "Nothin' vital, anyway."

"Good..." A small thought made him feel guilty for leaving Szayel with his parents, but he shrugged it off just as soon as it had arrived; the pinkhaired male had offered, after all.

"Worried about the shooting?" Jaegerjaquez took a seat next to Keigo, leaning back into a half-lying position, resting his upper body on his elbows. This position forced Keigo to shift in order to look at his friend. "It won't be so bad, you know."

"How can you be so sure?" Fake-tears twinkled in Keigo's eyes (he's good at crying in front of an audience). "They are ruthless! Just promise me, Jaegerjaquez, that my funeral will be sad and filled with tears by hundreds of people that will miss me after this!"

"Ya wimp. Com'ere." With a strong hand he pulled the startled Keigo down into a lying position next to him, then the same hand ruffled the brown hair. He was aware of the confusion within the brown-speckled-with-green eyes (confusion and Keigo sort of comes hand in hand) but he ignored it and just laid on his side, eyeing his friend and his own calmness fall like a curtain around them, hoping it would have a positive effect on the younger male. "It'll be fine," he promsied. "I work part-time as a model, you've got nothin' to fear."

"Oh..." That statement didn't surprise Keigo - he'd guessed it already, thinking that Jaegerjaquez would make a great model. But... "If you're already a model, why didn't Szayel just use you for this instead of me?"

"Hn, he probably needed a new vict- Eh, I mean, a new subject." His slip had gone unnoticed, by the looks of things - Keigo was lying there like a small child, looking all innocent and fragile - which Grimmjow was utterly grateful for. "I can come with you for the shooting, if ya like."

"Would you?" A pair of twinkling eyes lifted to lock with electric blue orbs.

"Mm. After all, someone has to make sure they don't lock you up for keepsake - you're much too valuable to me." He had whispered the last part, so low that the brunette couldn't be sure if he had heard correctly. That's too many slip-ups in too short time. Jaegerjaquez ruffled the brown hair once more before settling down with a thoughtful glance at the younger male next to him. He could tell that Keigo was very tired, and just waited for those eyes to close; as they finally did, and the breathing evened out, Jaegerjaquez reached out again and gently tygged a stray lock of brown hair away from the face before him. "I'll watch while you sleep."

* * *

**KEIGO p.o.v.**

Something was poking my side, a consistent poking that was getting annoying. It didn't help to just swat it away, because it immediately returned. Gah, why can't I just be allowed to sleep?

"Hey, Keigo..." Whoa!

Sitting upright, confused and disorientated, I conclude that I am indeed in my room, on my bed, but something was out of the ordinary. Something pink stood in my doorway. Hang on... _Szayel! _Oh my god, _Jaegerjaquez!_I spun around to come face to face, nearly knocking into Jaegerjaquez face. Oh heck, I'm too damn close!

"J-Jaegerjaquez," I stammer as I try to find enough balance to move away from him. Gosh, this is embarrassing... "S-sorry, I just... I was so tired! The moment I laid down, I couldn't keep my eyes open. Sorry!" Honestly, what kind of a friend am I? Falling asleep, leaving my guests to boredom! I'm pathetic!

"'s alright," Jaegerjaquez grinned at me, helping me to sit up straight again, just as he was getting off the bed. "We better get going, and _you_ should just crawl into bed."

"Indeed," the photographer agreed. "We will find our way out. I will pick you up tomorrow again. When do you finish school?"

"Uhm..." What day is it today? Wednesday. "Uhm, at three."

"See you then. Goodnight, Kei-kun."

With that, Szayel left my room, but Jaegerjaquez remained standing just beside my bed, looking at me with an expression I can't translate. What is he thinking? He's probably disappointed that I fell asleep. How long had I been sleeping anyway? A quick glance at my clock tells me I've been sleeping about forty minutes or so; I wonder what Jaegerjaquez has been doing while I slept...

"See ya Friday." I nod; what more can I do? If he's that short with me, it must mean he's upset. "Hey..." I look up at him again, to find him grinning at me. "If ya wanna cuddle again, you've got my number." I can't help but smile; he sure knows how to cheer me up.

"So you're not upset?" Figured I have to ask anyway.

"Nah, think I can forgive you." He reached out and ruffled my hair (I think he has done that more than once already this evening, but I don't mind). "Sweet dreams, Kei."

"Mm, sweet dreams." I watched him leave, wanting to follow him to the door but he said my mother was already at the door and would lock behind them. The moment he closed the door behind me, I went up the get dressed for bed, and then jumped into bed; sleep hadn't completely left me, so it wasn't hard to settle in. A smile crept onto my lips, though. "Doesn't smell like Nnoitra anymore," I mumbled into my pillow before sleep finally came back took me over again.

* * *

The following day played out much like the previous; Keigo was picked up after school, tortured at Yumichika's, had a quick burger at the nearest burger-bar, and was then driven home. They didn't stop to pick up Jaegerjaquez this evening, though, and Szayel didn't go in for a coffee either, but Keigo was still as embarrassed when he got home as he had been the previous day. And who wouldn't have been? Yumichika had gotten his clothes ready and forced him to try them on in case something needed to be changed - there was nothing wrong with the clothes per se, but being scrutinized from top to toe was not Keigo's cup of tea. Oh, and the mask was ready... Why did he need a mask again? He remembered seeing images in Szayel's gallery on that virtual community, and Jaegerjaquez had a jaw-like bone-mask on a few of his pictures, but that didn't explain why Keigo needed one. His own mask was quite different from Jaegerjaquez' too - it was formed like horns starting on his forehead and pointing downwards by his cheeks and ears, and in between the two horns was a yellowish eye-shade, making it look like strangely designed sunglasses. Ah, but who is Keigo to complain... He said he'd behave, so he would - which means, he wont complain about the outfit either; even if it is a weird-looking mask. His only wish was that this weekend had already been over and done with.

When he was sitting at home that evening, thinking about what was to come the following two days, he couldn't stop shaking. What a coward... Afraid of being photographed. He didn't really care what Szayel did with the pictures, but having them taken... it was a nightmare. He had logged onto the _BrickWall Virtual Community_and saw that Jaegerjaquez was online. He suddenly felt the urge to write and confirm that the blue-haired male wouldn't stand him up tomorrow - he _had _promised he'd be there.

**::::::**

**From:**_**Delicate_Raizer**_

**To:**_**Jaegerjaquez**_

**Title:**** Nervous!**

**Message:**

**I'm shaking so bad, I could mistake it for an earthquake.**

**::::::**

Although he felt like a fool admitting it, he thought it was a good thing to be honest to the other male, especially since he'd had experienced the same situation before. Though, he might not have the same type of nerves that Keigo has - meaning, Jaegerjaquez might be brave, whereas Keigo is a coward (he already knew that as a fact, though).

**::::::**

**From:**_**Jaegerjaquez**_

**To:**_**Delicate_Raizer**_

**Title:**** RE:Nervous!**

**Message:**

**Meh, don't worry! I'll be there, I'll save you from the claws of death if necessary.**

**Carpe Diem, Keigo!**

**Oi, by the way... Did I make a fool of myself in front of your dad?**

**::::::**

**::::::**

**From:**_**Delicate_Raizer**_

**To:**_**Jaegerjaquez**_

**Title:**** RE:Nervous!**

**Message:**

**He hasn't said anything. I think he was trying too hard to make a good impression on Szayel that he completely forgot about you. But, my mother asked me earlier where I had met **_**'such a charming young man'**_** - gee, she's married already, you know!**

**::::::**

All in good laugh, though it was quite a shock to see his mother act like that. When had she learned to understand this Walloon language? Perhaps it would be wise to ask her, she might have a few good stories to tell Keigo on boring days. But all in due time.

**::::::**

**From:**_**Jaegerjaquez**_

**To:**_**Delicate_Raizer**_

**Title:**** RE:Nervous!**

**Message:**

**Heh, damn... I had even worked on my proposal (I swear, my knee friggin' hurts from all the kneeling!) and here you go and ruin my hopes. Damnit, I wanted to be your daddy!**

**Nah, jokes aside...**

**Did the 'earthquake' stop?**

**::::::**

Keigo gave this some thought, and with a startling realization noted that his shaking had stopped. He wasn't thinking about the coming days at all! And now that he was reminded of it again, he didn't feel as shaky - Jaegerjaquez would be there, encouraging him. That was all he needed.

**::::::**

**From:**_**Delicate_Raizer**_

**To:**_**Jaegerjaquez**_

**Title:**** RE:Nervous!**

**Message:**

**Thank you. I'm relaxed now. I don't know how you handle me so easy.**

**And, uhm... I wouldn't want to have you as a daddy. I'd rather have you as one of my stuffed toys - fluffy and warm. Ah, you **_**are**_** warm, just not fluffy. You're actually a rock. But... You know what I mean, right?**

**::::::**

Ah! He sent something like _that?_How could he! When Keigo is tired, he isn't always aware of what he says and does, and this was one of those moments. It sounded too... Well, _too much!_ He was almost too frightened to open the reply, but forced himself to read it anyway.

**::::::**

**From:**_**Jaegerjaquez**_

**To:**_**Delicate_Raizer**_

**Title:**** RE:Nervous!**

**Message:**

**A stuffed toy? Hm, it couldäve been worse. Thanks. I could be your personal blue cuddle-bear, strong enough to beat the crap out of the monsters in your closet.**

**::::::**

**::::::**

**From:**_**Delicate_Raizer**_

**To:**_**Jaegerjaquez**_

**Title:**** RE:Nervous!**

**Message:**

**More like my cuddle-c**_**at**_**.**

**::::::**

**::::::**

**From:**_**Jaegerjaquez**_

**To:**_**Delicate_Raizer**_

**Title:**** RE:Nervous!**

**Message:**

**Aww, and you're my puppy.**

**::::::**

This conversation didn't quite turn out the way Keigo had anticipated, but it still brought a smile to his face. He'd gladly be a puppy; puppies are cute and playful and harmless (except for their teeth). It was getting late, though, and it was about time for him to go to bed and try to sleep.

**::::::**

**From:**_**Delicate_Raizer**_

**To:**_**Jaegerjaquez**_

**Title:**** RE:Nervous!**

**Message:**

**Vroff!**

**I have to go to bed now. See you tomorrow, right?**

**Goodnight, kitten!**

**::::::**

**::::::**

**From:**_**Jaegerjaquez**_

**To:**_**Delicate_Raizer**_

**Title:**** RE:Nervous!**

**Message:**

**Yup, see you tomorrow by three.**

**Sweet dreams, puppy.**

**Mjau!**

**::::::**

Yup, Keigo went straight to bed and slept like a baby, all the while having a smile plastered on his face. What he dreamt about? Why, kittens and puppies, of course!

* * *

Friday arrived. School was the same as always - boring and much too long. But, as the final bell rang, you wished that the day had been longer (or, preferably, already over). Taking your time to get out of school, you prayed that some miracle would save you - maybe they had forgotten about you, or changed the day, or found a better option than you. Anything! For the first time, you really _wanted_ to be forgotten. However, there was no mistaking the Jeep waiting outside the school gates... And even if you hadn't recognized the car, you certainly recognized the wickedly evil grins of the driver and the passenger. There was just no way around it now that they had seen you. And so, you swallowed the thick lump of nervousness and took your bike. While you placed the bike inside the trunk of the car, your heart was speeding as if it was running a marathon and was about to explode - could a heart really explode? - and nothing successfully managed to slow it down. Still, your body functioned normally, and you were able to get into the backseat of the car without an accident; unfortunately.

"Mjau," was the first thing you heard after closing the door, and as you looked up you noted a dumbfounded look upon Szayel's face and a madly grinning Jaegerjaquez. "How's the puppy doing? Ready for today?"

"Do I have a choice?" you answered weakly. Even though your heart was still racing within your chest, you wanted to smile at the greeting you had received. _'He wants to be my kitty, then.'_ You didn't know whether that was good or bad, but for the moment you liked the attention and the note of friendship that had been offered. Yes, sometimes you still doubted this friendship, unsure whether it was truly genuine or not, but as long as they didn't flat out dump you somewhere then it was just great. But, that's not assuming that day won't ever come.

"Don't worry, Kei-kun, you are in good hands." This did not really assure you of anything positive, though. "The plans for today is to get you over to Yumi's, you get changed and ready for the shooting, and then we take a few shots down in my personal studio. When all is done, we go somewhere to eat, then we go home." Szayel started up the car and drove off. "I'll come with a suggestion. How about you stay the night at Grimm's?" You stared in disbelief, stupefied. Stay over? That hadn't been part of the deal! "That way, tomorrow I don't have do drive all the way through Karakura to pick you up at your home, and then all the way back again and halfway through Kagamino."

"Makes sence, you know," Jaegerjaquez agreed, not focusing on you but instead focusing on the road ahaed.

"We can go get some things you might need right now, or we can provide you with the necessities later. What do you say?"

"Uhm..." Stay over? Was that really okay? "But my fath-"

"Your father won't mind if I ask him."

True enough, Szayel could probably demand just about anything and your father would do it. But you hadn't spent the night at a friend's since you were very young (not counting the times you've been on vacation, because then you obviously can't sleep in your own bed). But this was all so sudden, and quite frankly it freaked you out just a tiny bit. Especially the thought of that cat stalking you.

"Anyway," Szayel continued after a few minutes of silence. "Tomorrow I thought we'd take a few shots out-door. I know the perfect spot, and don't worry - you won't get cold." The pinkhaired male glanced at his companion in the front passenger seat. "I might as well ask you to model for me too. Tomorrow, I mean."

"Fine," Jaegerjaquez shrugged. "I don't mind."

"Well, Keigo? How is it going to be? Stay at Grimmjow's or not?"

"I-If it's alright with you," you said towards Jaegerjaquez, noting the electric blue orbs observing you through the rear-view mirror.

"Of course it's alright, pup."

"O-Okay then, I'll stay at Jaegerjaquez'." Instead of racing madly, your heart now settled down a fraction, beating steadily yet heavy against your ribcage. What was that warm feeling inside? Must be the terror easing away; there's just no other explanation.

* * *

"Grimmjow, grab him!"

Strong arms held you firmly in place - damnit, you'd been so close to the door! - and hauled you back into the room again, passed the smirking pinkette and up to the stool, where an unimpressed 'purplette' was stomping his foot against the floor, hands on his hipbones and gave you the purple evil eye. The clothes had been fine, you had obediently changed into the chosen outfit without any complaints - but the makeup was ridiculous! Powder? Why did you need powder? And eye-liner, mascara, lip-balm? Last time Yumichika had tried makeup on you, he'd obviously been gentle - this time he was _very generous!_

"I don't want to look like a geisha!" you screamed, trying to get out of Jaegerjaquez' grip, but to no avail.

"You _won't_look like a geisha," Yumichika snorted. "Sit still, before I tie you to the chair!"

As if taking it as his personal job to keep you seated, Jaegerjaquez remained holding his arms around your chest and the chair, and if it wasn't for the too close proximity of his breath against your ear, you might've tried another escape - but Jaegerjaquez had whispered in your ear just when you attempted to move:

_"I'll bite your ear if you try to move."_

That kept you firmly in place, yet still wondering why they had to put layers and layers of fake colours on top of your perfectly natural beauty. At least, that's what you thought about most people - makeup only hides the real beauty. There are some exceptions - a few people actually looks a lot better with makeup on - but they are very few. However, makeup on men? Doesn't that only make them look more feminine?

"Traitor," you mumbled, feeling the grin that formed on the others face since he was leaning his chin on your shoulder.

"Don't whine, mate. It'll be over soon." The grin seemingly widened. "If you're really good today, I'll give ya a bone to chew on tonight."

"Ah! Stop talking like that!"

"We're ready," Yumichika announced with a sigh of relief. "Off you go, 'Mizuho's brother'."

"It's _Keigo_, you know. You really need to remember names, it's insulting to be called someone's brother all the time," you mumbled as Jaegerjaquez released you so you could arise from the stool, and began following Szayel out of the room. Honestly, it's really nagging you when you're being called 'Asano-san' or anything other than 'Keigo'; you don't much care about formalities, it's too stiff, not at all your style.

Once you and Jaegerjaquez had been lead into Szayel's studio, lead by the pinkhaired male himself, you were hit by an intense feeling of self-consciousness. How were you supposed to stand? Were you supposed to do something? What's with all the cameras? And... what if you embarrass yourself? The room isn't especially big, but there are different set of 'stages' for different kind of photos, some with plain white background, some with black, and others with motives. You were supposed to do what and where and how? This was more confusing than you had thought!

"I'd like to begin with you standing by the plain white background for this shot." Szayel went up ahead and began to set the cameras, three of them from different angles, and the one he kept hanging around his neck. "I think that suits your green shirt best."

"Uhm, okay."

Standing there, before four cameras and two males, you felt like an alien in a far distant universe, far away from your own home-planet. You had promised to do this, you would be obedient and do your very best, but... what was your very best? You had no idea what was expected from you, and if you were even able to live up to it, but you were here now and there is no escape - might as well try to enjoy it (_'try'_ being the keyword).

"These three cameras will go off every other second or so - don't worry about the flash, it's not as bad as from a regular camera," Szayel explained. "And I will take a few snapshots with this one." He held up the one around his neck. "You just act natural for me, try to look like you're comfortable and _not _choking, please."

"Ehehe, I-I'll try."

"Let's begin!"

You just stood there, watching the flashes from the cameras with your large eyes, and feeling just as stupid as you probably looked. And judging by the low grumble you heard from the pinkhaired male, you were obviously not pleasing him. One look at Jaegerjaquez, and you managed a week smile - he was signalling for you to strike some poses.

"Oi, puppy... Jus' do what I do, 'kay."

You nodded and tried to follow his lead. After a few poses it felt a little better, a little easier, and you even tried a few of your own; one thoughtful stance, one threatening pose, one innocent, one blowing a kiss at the camera (you'd always wanted to do that at your family-photos) and you tried to look into the cameras too a few times. Apparently, this pleased the photographer, seeing as the smile grew wider and wider for every shot he took.

"Great! Yes, just like that! One more... There!" To your ears, it sounded like some cheap porn, but you tried to block out the sounds and focus on either your own poses or silently asking Jaegerjaquez for help. "Keigo, I want you to rip open your shirt! Slowly..."

"Eh?" Rip it? Why? It's a perfectly good shirt! Never the less, you had little choice but to do as you were told. Button by button you ripped the shirt open, slow as requested, and tried _hard_not to blush. Unfortunately, pink tinted your cheeks by the time you were done. Jaegerjaquez motioned for you to pull your fingers through your hair, so you did just that, and as if it was the most natural thing to do you followed through by ruffling it up (which lead to a high-pitched squeak from the photographer - that must be a good thing, though).

"Superb!" Szayel exclaimed, just as the flashes stopped and you were allowed to relax. "You are a natural! These photos will be excellent!" Moving away to the extra set of clothes they had brought in, he pointed to the white shirt and tie. "Now, get changed into these and we'll go to the black background for this one."

You did as told, took off the torn green shirt and put on the new white one instead, aswell as tied the tie. Two more items laid before you, waiting. A black wrist-band in leather, covering most part of your lower arm, and a card with the ace of spades. It looked like a black heart that had been torn out from a chest, and the background was blood-red. Quite a disturbing picture. Your were informed that, yes, you were supposed to wear those accessories aswell.

This time, it was a lot easier to pose, even though you had a card to think about too; it had to be visible somehow on every photo, had to be centered yet still kept in the background. This was harder than it sounds, but you managed just fine. Until Szayel decided to put you in positions he preferred. He told you to put your arm like that, do this, head like that, et cetera and so on and so forth. Once more you had to unbutton a few buttons (no tearing or ruining this time, though) and the tie became a fun thing to play with (for the photographer, mind you). Even so, you were finished a lot sooner than you had anticipated, and when the flashes finally stopped again, you felt so relieved you could barely keep standing on your feet.

"That's it for today," Szayel announced, already busy looking through the snapshots on his camera with a crooked smile. "Thank you for cooperating, and I am personally looking forward tomorrow."

So were you... Because tomorrow, this hell would be _over_ once and for all.

* * *

**A/N:**

_Translations (more or less correct):_

_"Bondjoû. Cmint daloz" - Hello. How are you?_

_::::::::::_

Well, what do you guys think about it so far? Any complaints? Any suggestions?

Please, don't be afraid to review - I highly appreciate your opinions ^^

Any wishes for the future to come in _**Unpredictable**_?

/_Namantos_


	12. Chapter 12

**Good Evening, or good day, or morning, whatever it might be ^^**

**I want to thank all of my readers, and all of my reviewers - without you, this story would still stand still ^^ Your words and encouragement means a lot to me! Thank you!**

I apologize for misspellings and grammar-errors - I know there are several of both, more than likely. I've tried, I really have, to reduce the errors, but bare with me, plz.

I've received some requests for characters they wish to see, and I assure you - Harribel will appear (but not in this chapter). ^^ I've got her character all planned for this story, so don't worry - she's my fav female character, after all.

I hope that this chapter won't be too much of a disappointment!

I hereby present: UNPREDICTABLE Chapter 12

Read and Review ^^

* * *

**UNPREDICTABLE**

It was a great relief to wash off the makeup and get changed into the school-uniform again; well, at least that's what Keigo thought once he was allowed to leave the studio - he practically_ ran _straight to a WC to scrub his face off, _literally_. Like hell he would ever go out looking like that... even if he had to agree that he didn't look like the geisha he had accused Yumichika of turning him into. Behind him, in the small space of the toilet-booth, Jaegerjaquez was grinning at his intense scrubbing.

"Oi, be careful. You'll need that face in the future, ya'know."

"Bwach id do u, I'm d'ne who bwearsch id."

"I'm gifted with languages, but I've never tried understanding the _Keigo-_dialect yet." Jaegerjaquez' smile could rival Nnoitra's natural one. "Translate, please."

"I sbaid..." Keigo stopped his frantic scrubbing and turned to look at the taller male, water dripping down his face and a few strands of hair had been caught in the wash too. "'What's it to you, I'm the one who wears it'," he recited, a small blush starting to tint his cheeks. It didn't help that the bluenette laughed at him either.

"Heh, yeah but I'm the one who has to look at it," Jaegerjaquez retorted, holding a white washcloth for the shorter male, but when Keigo didn't accept it he simply shrugged and reached out. A steady hand began drying the wet cheeks of his friend - he loved how the blush darkened three shades before a quick hand stole the washcloth from him and hid the wet face behind said cloth. Oh, but Jaegerjaquez was not put off - that was the exact reaction he'd been looking for. "Dry off, I'm hungry."

"Yeah yeah..."

"Boys," Szayel's voice cut through the thin door to the booth they occupied. "I will drop you off at Grimm's and grab something to eat with Yumi later. I want to get these pictures ready by the morning, in case I need to take some more."

"'Kay, we'll be right out." Jaegerjaquez shifted his slightly slanted eyes to the brunette, whom had only just now finished drying his face and was looking right back at the 'kitten'. "Looks like you're gonna have to ride in my car, then, ey."

...The horror. In a car, with Jaegerjaquez, and _he's_driving... If said male hadn't been in the same toilet-booth as him, Keigo would have locked himself in and refused to come out again, but it kind of loses the point when the one you're trying to get away from is actually in there with you. So, Keigo was doomed. _Again._As if sensing the thoughts skipping around in the other's head, Jaegerjaquez frowned and gave Keigo a swat atop the head, earning a startled yelp mostly made out of shock but also a little pain. He wouldn't tolerate being called a _'bad driver'_ - he had worked hard for that damn driver's licence! - even if he wasn't the _safest_ driver in the world. Not even the innocent look or the puppy-eyes had any effect on him; he was unrelenting on this topic.

"I'll have you know that I _will not_wreck my baby." Narrowed eyes held the gaze of the shrinking form before him. "And I happen to like this puppy." He reached forward to ruffle the brown hair - this seemed to be an occurring theme around both Jaegerjaquez and Nnoitra, maybe they are playing a game called _'ruffle the puppy'_- and then gripped the neck to haul Keigo with him out of the toilet. "So... Pup, what'cha wanna eat today?"

* * *

A tall, slim yet muscled form exited the bathroom, bronze skin dripping wet, only wearing a white towel low around a slim waist, and pale blonde hair falling flatly against a nicely curved back and before brown-scarlet coloured eyes - or dark gore for those who prefer a more macabre and slightly more accurate version. Some would describe this as beautiful. On second thought... _everyone_ _in their right mind_would think of this as beauty. But to describe it as feminine... Ilforte would frown at that; what a despicable comparison. He knows that he is beautiful, but he has an undoubtedly manly charm that could sweep a girls feet off the floor in a single moment; well, if that is what he wants. Supposedly, some girls wouldn't want to compete with a man who is naturally more beautiful than her; they don't want that sort of competition in a relationship. Not that he needs any kind of relationship anyway, he is quite content with being on his own - it's just a pity that no one but himself gets to worship such a beautiful sight he is met with every time he looks in the floor-to-ceiling-mirror he has installed in his bedroom. Though, he wouldn't exactly call himself a narcissist - he's only being honest, and truth is that he _is_ exceptionally beautiful; he can't pretend that he isn't. He doesn't flaunt it, he doesn't force his beauty onto anyone, he doesn't ask anyone what they think of him - he just is, and that's enough for him. A little too much, sometimes. Like, when it's summer and he goes out to enjoy the sun, it doesn't take long for people to gather around him like flies around a pile of shit (yes, he would use that comparison, although he would compare himself with something less vulgar than 'shit' if it wasn't so damn annoying every summer because of this reason - so shit it is). Luckily, this time of year he doesn't have that many 'stalkers', because he can conceal himself with clothes and a jacket.

His phone rang just as he entered his bedroom, breaking him out of his reverie, the display flashing its yellow light and displaying the name of whom he was already expecting. Flicking his long hair behind an ear he lifted the phone to his ear.

"Hey."

_"I'm here. Will you open up?"_

"Yes, hang on." Walking up to the window, he glanced out across the yard and the gates before pressing in the numbers in the keypad installed on the wall next to the window, out of sight from anyone outside. The combination of numbers opened the front gates, and he saw a light grey subaru enter. "The door is open."

_"I still think you are too careless to leave the door unlocked."_

"Oh, what's life if you live behind locked doors and sealed windows, eh, bro."

_"I think that is meant to be rhetoric."_

"Yeah yeah. I'm in my room." Nonchalantly throwing the phone on top of his bed, he began to search for appropriate clothes to wear.

It's not that he disregards his safety - he is fairly sure he can defend himself unless he's up against a machine-gun or something like that. But who would want to put holes in a body like his? Sure, there are a lot of crazy people out there, anything is possible - there is no limit to the insanity that can lurk inside the mind. Perhaps he is a little insane himself, for leaving the door unlocked while being on the top floor of a three-floored house, but if anyone is smart enough to get through the front gates, an alarm will set off once they've gotten ten feet inside the gate, alarming the police, and should they by any means manage to pass this aswell, then another alarm will surely sound once they enter the house. Yes, Ilforte feels fairly secure inside his little castle - except it isn't a castle; it's a simple house with extreme security around the yard. Then there is the traps around the house that Szayel has been toying with over the years - no one should underestimate the photographer, he is capable of a lot more than taking photographs in a studio.

As he was laying out the desired clothes on his bed, he could hear footsteps coming up the stairway and moments later hgis friend stood in his doorway. Black form-fit jeans, a creamy white shirt stuffed into the pants, and a black vest unbuttoned - would certainly match Ilforte's outfit, whereas his shirt was pearly white and his pants black with gray stripes along the length, and form-fit aswell, of course - why hide what you've been blessed with (or cursed). Ray-blonde hair in precise disarray, mocka coloured eyes gently meeting those of Ilforte's, and that turquiose marking still in place on his cheek - of course, you can't get rid of a tattoo that easy.

"I thought you would have been finished by now," Tesla admitted, entering the room and sitting down lazily on top of the bed because there was nothing else to sit on. "We are late as it is."

"Aww, bro, don't stress me." He put on one of his loopsided smiles. "Important guests arrives late, you know."

"So you keep telling me, but I rather be on time than have people waiting." Mocha eyes grew to the size of plates as Ilforte started drying himself off with the towel he had previously kept around his hips. "Hey! Goddamnit, Ilforte! Don't strip like that in front of me, it's not natural!"

A warm laughter filled the room as Ilforte could not keep himself from bursting. Who would have imagined Tesla being embarrassed by this simple thing - Tesla who has to put up with everything Nnoitra puts him through (the horror!).

"It's not like you haven't seen me naked before, bro."

"That was in school!" Tesla defended, determinedly looking away from the blonde. "In the changing-room and shower after physics! Not like this."

"What's the difference? What has changed since then?"

"Those abs, for starters."

"Ah, so you saw as much. Anything else?"

"...Pervert."

* * *

Having said that he wouldn't wreck his car obviously did not include 'not-scaring-the-crap-out-of-the-passenger-and-a-dozen-or-so-passers-by' - Jaegerjaquez has no sence of speed-limit what so ever; and Keigo got to experience this first hand. Yup, you guessed correctly - by the time they pulled onto the parking lot outside a restaurant, Keigo was pale as a sheet and voice raspy from shouting out prays to let him survive this ordeal. He felt like kissing the asphalt as soon as he got out of the sleek black Jaguar, but there was a huge puddle of oil just outside his door that made him write that off, tasting the black goo by only looking at it; disgusting.

"See," Jaegerjaquez grinned as he rounded the car and patted Keigo's shoulder roughly. "Got us here safe and sound."

"Easy for you to say," Keigo rasped, glaring at the taller male. "You weren't the one fighting to keep his intestines inside your body!"

"Maybe I _was _going a little over the limit."

"_A little?_" Keigo couldn't believe his ears, and Jaegerjaquez' grin threatened to split his face in two. "My _dad_ goes 'a little over' the speed-limit! This... This is like a... a roller-coaster from hell!"

"Ah, but you don' look green, so I take it as a good sign, pup." A large hand patted Keigo on the head, ruffling the hair just a little. "Now, come on, my tummy is screaming for attention! If you keep me out here to listen any more to your complaints 'bout my driving, I can't guarantee I won't eat _you_."

"M-M-_Me_?" Brown-with-a-twinkle-of-green eyes stared in disbelief at the tall blue-haired male, but he couldn't tell if Jaegerjaquez was joking or not. Now being reminded of his first real meeting with the male and his friend, Keigo recalled questioning if they would eat a raw roadkill - his discomfort suddenly grew to a maximum; what if they are cannibals!

"Aye, ya look tasty enough," Jaegerjaquez confirmed with a serious expression. "Told ya I'm a deadly cheff, but that doesn't necessarily mean I suck at cooking."

"Gyaaah!"

* * *

The fact that he hates how his brother has treated his best friend is one thing, but to see him get beaten up is a completely different matter. It does hurt to see the blood of a relative being splashed around like water, and it hurts even more when it's such a close relative; it's almost as if it's his _own_blood. Because no matter what he thinks or says or does, they will always be triplets - not even death can change that. Ichigo's problem is that he thinks that he is invincible, he just never knows when to back away from a fight. Yes, he is a good fighter, always have been and always will be - until he meet his match. Shiro knows this as he knows the reflection in the mirror that faces him every morning and every night. He also knows that trying to stop Ichigo would make him a hypocrite. Shiro is no angel himself. The only reason he came to this deserted factory is because he had been challenged by the Skulls (a low-life gang that thinks they need to beat anyone that crosses their path). Apparently they weren't the only ones who thought this old factory would be a suitable place for a fight. There was that nameless gang of thugs that seemed to have targeted Ichigo and Sado ever since their freshman year in high school; they always knew how to rile Ichigo up, always knew how to put him in a corner and force him to fight them. No matter who won, both sides always ended up with cuts and bruises that would remain for a few days at least, reminding them of their last encounter - two against five, and they still manage to keep an even game.

Right at that moment, Shiro saw his brother get a particularly well-aimed elbow right on his cheek, causing him to spit out blood - it took a lot of self-restraint for Shiro not to lash out there and beat the crap out of whoever dared to hurt his brother. But he had his own approaching problems; he could feel it in the air, how the tension thickened - it always meant a fight was around the corner. Leaving his spot in the cover of the shadows, he exited the old factory just in time to catch a glimpse of Renji over by the deserted backgrounds of the factory, where there used to stand rows and rows of trucks and machines that had been cleared away a few months ago. His redheaded friend and the rest of their companions had been completely surrounded by the Skulls - a much larger and more organized group than the one fighting Ichigo. Good thing the numbers were more even out here on the open grounds.

Taking advantage of the darkness (it gets dark so early these days) Shiro sneaks up closer, listening to the usual threats being exchanged between the two gangs, grinning at the colourful words flying between them. Soon there won't be all that many words to fill the otherwise deserted area, but more shouts, grunts, cries and preferably sickening crunches to be swallowed up by the darkness around them, never to reach the more crowded streets where there might have been someone who could have saved any of them. No, this place is a fighting-ground for a reason - and Shiro plans to take full use of all its perks.

One of the gang-members were too busy biting off remarks at one of Shiro's friends that he failed to notice the looming figure approaching him from behind. A deadly mistake. In less than a second, a strong arm had snaked its way around the thug's neck - a gurgling noise interupted most of the quabbling males, as said arm held a strong grip across the thug's throat, nearly crushing his windpipe.

"Oh?" Shiro grinned at the thug struggling in his grip. "Ya're not even good 'nough ta be our punchin' bag." With that said, his free hand pressed a certain spot by the thug's neck and released the limp and passed-out body in a heap on the ground before his feet. Yellow eyes caught those of dark brown and similar grins were exchanged - a full-out war had begun.

Within seconds, the background of the old deserted factory was a mingle of bodies, loud noises filling the darkness with shouts, grunts, cries and sickening crunches, exactly like Shiro had assumed, blending perfectly with the same sounds that were coming from inside of the factory. It's just another regular beginning of a perfectly normal weekend...

* * *

"Christmas party, eh? That sounds interesting."

"Yeah, I don't know..." Brown-speckled-with-green observed as the blue-haired model took a bite off his _yakitori _with tare sauce, praying that it was indeed made out of chicken (some say that the taste is quite similar to human flesh!) before daring another taste of his own _chanpon_ dish. "I'm not sure if I should go."

"Huh?" Electric-blue eyes immediately met those of his companion. "Why not? You were invited, right? You should go."

"Yes, but..." Keigo's head lowered, feeling pathetic now in front of this strong personality whom was beyond comparison to the brownhaired youth. "If I go, I'll be alone. I-I don't..." This was something he hadn't really told Jaegerjaquez; it was his own little 'secret'. How would the popular male react to these facts? Either way, he couldn't keep hiding it - Jaegerjaquez was bound to find out sooner or later. "I don't have any friends at school." Before this, it had only been a thought inside Keigo's head, but now as it was out in the open, spoken and clarified, it became real. And it was painful.

"Are ya really that lonely?"

Their eyes clashed again. Keigo was expecting the other to laugh and make fun of him, telling him what a loser he is, and how pathetic he is that he can't find a single friend to hang on to, but... He couldn't tell what the look in the other's eyes meant - it was neither mocking nor pitying, it was just... blank. Understanding, perhaps. But how could Jaegerjaquez understand how Keigo felt, he was always surrounded by his friends while Keigo had no one. Until now, that is - if he still had the bluenette.

"Ya'know..." Jaegerjaquez continued after a tense moment. His eyes had left Keigo's and he was focusing on his food, yet he still captured all of Keigo's attention with the simple usage of his voice. "Being lonely and alone are two different things. You can be lonely in a crowd coz you don't know anyone or _feel_like you don't fit in or like you're being pushed aside. Being alone means that there is no one there. Not even a crowd." He paused to eat, giving Keigo some time to melt the words. Of course, it wasn't easy to melt on such short amount of time, but the wheels was spinning, and the answer to the riddle had been given - he only needed to decipher the strange language before it finally clicked. Keigo was still thinking deeply when Jaegerjaquez spoke again. "Are you truly alone, Keigo?"

Was he truly alone? Is there really no one there for him? Most of the days in school, he goes by unnoticed, not even the teachers sees him or ask him for an answer even if he is the only one raising his hand in class. He truly feels... invisible. But is he _alone_? Mizuiro - Keigo's longest and oldest friend - had deserted him sometime during first and second year of high school, focusing more and more time on girls and admiring Ichigo more for each day that passed. Ichigo, whom Keigo had come to respect after that first day in High School when the orange-haired troublemaker along with Sado, saved him - Ichigo had never really acknowledged Keigo's existance unless on some occasions, and lately he had been too preoccupied with his fights and Rukia. Sado was just Sado - quiet, always there, dependable yet very distant. And then there is Orihime, whom has been heartbroken by Ichigo's betrayal but still tries to keep a brave face and act normal around her friends (whom also happens to be closely connected to Ichigo and Rukia). Tatsuki is overprotective of Orihime, of course (there is nothing strange or unusual with that) and is simply blinded by tending to her friend than noticing any of her other classmates. And as for any other classmate or school-member... they have nothing to do with Keigo. On that aspect, he is alone.

This 'crowd' Jaegerjaquez was talking about wasn't necessarily a crowd of people he knows, Keigo realized - it could be a crowd on the streets, people in the Market, at the game-shop, just about anywhere. Maybe Keigo hadn't tried to reach out because he felt like there was no use, like he had been beaten into the ground and there was no one who would help dig him up from that hole. He felt... hopeless, in a way. Alone? Maybe... maybe he made himself alone. No, _lonely_. He made himself _lonely_, but he still had that crowd around him, right? He has his parents (when they are home) and his sister (although she bosses him around as if he isn't worth more than the shit beneath her shoe) and he has the game-store owner who enjoys chatting with Keigo every time he visits, and lately... he also has Jaegerjaquez. A small smile, torn between being happy and miserable, breaks onto Keigo's clasped lips as he stares at his food, inable to meet the eyes of his companion across the small table.

"I guess... I'm not as lonely as I thought." He swallows, unsure if he should continue or not. But since he is who he is, words automatically seems to pop out of his mouth the moment he thinks of them, and he finally continues in a low, steady and calm voice, so unlike him it's impossible to not take him seriously. "It's just that... I am ignored at school. It isn't my imagination, and I'm not exaggerating. Sometimes I have to check the mirror in the bathroom, to see if there is still a reflection." The smile turned sad, but he kept on talking. "It hurts even more when they finally _do_ talk to me, because they talk as if _I'm _the one who has been absent or avoiding _them_. It's just not fair!" At the end, his voice grew desperate, yet low enough not to disturb the other customers.

Jaegerjaquez listened intently, not interrupting or remarking, simply waiting for the brunette to finish; this is equally uncharacteristic of the bluehaired male as it is for Keigo to be serious. Admittedly, this conversation (as far as conversations goes) had a better time and place than this certain place, the timing had not been perfect, and Jaegerjaquez was not comfortable having this sort of discussion in a restaurant. But for Keigo's sake, he would offer a few more words of advise.

"Sometimes, the knowledge that there is at least one person out there who cares is enough to save someone." Grimmjow wanted to get this point across without too much fuss, and still make it clear enough to not leave any unanswered questions. The only words he could come up with was these: "I care, Kei. I'd do anything for you."

"Really?" Keigo assumed that this was just something a friend would say. He realized that all the times he had tried to comfort Mizuiro when he was missing his mother had all been a waste of time, because Mizuiro hadn't been listening. Is that what Jaegerjaquez is doing now? Giving Keigo the impression that he isn't alone when he actually is completely alone? That is just as cruel as pretending that his words meant something, like Mizuiro had done, making Keigo think he was helpful.

"Yes."

But he wanted to believe that Jaegerjaquez was being honest. Wanted so desperately to feel loved! He knew that he couldn't trust words per se, but there was no trace of falseness in Jaegerjaquez' voice, making his heart flip painfully at the idea of being deceived again. He wouldn't be able to survive another rejection, he wasn't ready for that yet.

"Let me rephrase that," Jaegerjaquez continued with a hint of a smirk. "Let's see... If you ended up in jail, I'd not bail you out - I'd be sitting in the cell right next to ya."

Keigo's eyes snapped up, meeting those electric-blue orbs opposite of him. At first, he had been confused by the choice of words, and then he'd been startled by the honestly in those eyes meeting his, and then it finally sunk in - he really wasn't alone.

"And if you'd wanna break out of jail, I'd help ya chew on the iron-bars."

Keigo couldn't stop laughing, finally returning to his old self instead of this depressed, nearly crying lump of meat that thought he had nowhere in the world to fit in - when in all honestly, he fit quite neatly on that chair he was occupying with Jaegerjaquez opposite of him.

* * *

**AN HOUR LATER**

_KEIGO'S P.O.V._

::::::::::::::::::::

I'm not sure, I might've died in that car-ride back to Jaegerjaquez, but this mist around me could also be all in my imagination instead of clouds; because I bet there are lots of fluffy clouds around that golden escalator you ride in up to heaven after you've died. I _would _go to heaven, right? I've been a good boy, _right?_ Ah, what if I've been bad and this mist leads me into the dark oblivion and the next thing I'll face is a huge monster with sharp teeth and claws that will tear me into tiny unrecognizable bits! What if I'll end up crawling among bones and burnt flesh, and the Devil himself will sit there on his throne and laugh at me!

...Uhm... Where did that come from? I'm standing outside of Jaegerjaquez apartment - there is nothing to worry about. I am alive, I am not alone, and no monster awaits me behind that door. Everything is great, actually! Besides, even if there _was_a monster inside of his apartment, Jaegerjaquez would be first in line for its teeth - it'd buy me enough time to get the hell out of this place. Gah, what am I thinking! I couldn't leave Jaegerjaquez in the claws of a monster! I would have to stay and help him, sacrifice myself if I had to! Sigh, friendship sure is complicated...

"Damn keys!" he growled angrily, trying one of the three keys for the sixth time. "I gotta change this damn lock, coz one of these days there's gonna be an accident!" I wonder if this happens every time he comes home; sure seems like it. Maybe I should- "Finally! This fuckin' shit drives me crazy..." Hm, no need for me to offer my great service, then.

Once he opens his door, I am reminded that there _is_a monster in there; how could I forget! It doesn't matter how I forgot, what matters is how I was reminded - a huge, white fur-ball jumped into Jaegerjaquez arms, reminding me of his pets, and then the darker, spotted and short-tailed monster on the ground reminded me of my stalker. It growled at me! At least I thought it did, but I could be wrong - I don't know much about cats after all.

"I-i-it growls?" I'm pretty sure that's something _dogs_ do, not cats.

"Hm?" Jaegerjaquez shifts towards me.

"D-did that cat just growl at me?" I point at the one lurking by his legs, staring at me with intense green eyes.

"Oh, no that would be this fur-ball." He pats the large white cat in his arms - honestly, that cat is bigger than a 5 year old child! "She makes kinda weird sounds, so if ya hear anythin' and you don't know what it is, it's probably her." The white cat, the one that loves Nnoitra, is looking at me with its large, blue eyes, seemingly content with where it is, being carried like a baby in Jaegerjaquez arms - I sincerely hope it won't fall in love with me too, because I don't think I can manage being tackled by that thing! "Reaper hisses a lot, but it doesn't always mean he's upset. Sometimes he just wants to play."

"How do you know when he wants to play and when he doesn't?"

"You'll notice if he bites or not." ...I had a hunch it was something along those lines. "Come. We can't stand in the corridor all night." Oh, that's right, I'm still in the hallway!

I step inside, mindful of the cats and try to pass Jaegerjaquez without touching too much, but he makes that very difficult since he's standing in the middle of the doorway and not budging, preoccupied cuddling with his cat. Which reminds me... what wil Reaper do to me today? Use me as a bed, a pin-cushion? His victim of other cruel games a cat could possibly come up with? I mean, sure he isn't as large as the white one (I'm positive that thing is gene-manipulated!) but he isn't much smaller either. If he tries to jump me, I'm fairly sure I will fall flat on my face, at his mercy, helpless; the end. Speaking of which. Reaper is sitting two feet away from me, staring with his green eyes, making chills run through my back, all the way to the tail-bones at the very bottom of my spine.

"Wanna play our game?"

"Yeah!" I had almost forgotten! It feels like ages since Jagerjaquez was at my place and played, and I still haven't had the chance to purchase the game myself.

And so it was that I ended up sitting on the couch next to Jaegerjaquez, playing our favourite game (at least that's one thing we have in common). Between us, the oversized white female cat was making strange noises, seemingly responding to sounds in the game or when we said anything - she is kind of cute, actually, but she's still scary; every time she moves and accidentally brush against me, I startle and end up dying in the game. Reaper has found a spot down by the game-console on the floor, looking at me all the time, watching every move I make - if he's gonna jump me, why doesn't he just get it over with!

"Hey..." Hm? I glance over at Jaegerjaquez and find him barely concentrating on the game, seemingly lost on thoughts instead. He looks... troubled. "Keigo, do you really feel that lonely?" My heart does a double-flip at this, feeling very vulnerable with this subject, and it doesn't really help when his electric-blue eyes glance at me. Unlike at the restaurant, his eyes show understanding - a _clear _indication of understanding, not a vague glimpse - and words simply fail me. "The subject seems to be uncomfortable for you, but that's coz' you need to talk about it. Important things are always the hardest to talk about. But it won't get any easier if you keep it inside." _It won't get easier screaming it from the roof-top either_, I think to myself, but I also realize that he is right. Keeping it bottled up will not solve anything.

"...Sometimes," I reply, looking away from Jaegerjaquez face, because words wouldn't come if I met those eyes. "I used to think that I was in the center of attention, you know. Everyone saw me, laughed at my jokes - _I _was the joke most of the times, but I was okay with that. Because..." God, how pathetic am I! "Because at least I wasn't alone." That's all it was. I let myself be played for a fool, thinking that's how my friends wanted me to be -the irony is just too laughable; I almost deserve being abandoned by them. They _didn't_ want me to act childish and hyperactive, they wanted me to grow up. And, while I _did_grow up, I never realized I had to change along with my own evolution - I stayed the way I was, because I thought that was what was expected of me. Oh, but when I finally stopped being the hyper shadow that followed them everywhere, they simply stopped caring aswell, leaving me alone with my thoughts. So what _was_ expected of me? If I'm not supposed to change, why do they grow tired and annoyed with me? And, if I'm supposed to change, why is it that they no longer acknowledge my existence? i don't know what I'm supposed to do, nor what my purpose in life is; it all feels so pointless if you have to go through it all on your own.

"Oi." Startled, I shift my eyes towards my companion again, feeling guilty for thinking that I am alone even though he's right there beside me, calmly and reassuringly looking at me with gentle blue eyes. "What are you thinking about?"

Does he have the answer I'm looking for? Does those electric blue eyes hold the truth for me, and all I need to do is look more closely? Would he really offer that kind of help? Once more I'm struck with the knowledge that I still don't really know Jaegerjaquez, and I can't see why he would want me as a friend to begin with. He already had his own band of friends, he doesn't need me and I have nothing to offer to him - I honestly don't fit in, not even in the background, with this guy. And that pains me.

"Tell me what you see," he suddenly says, leaning his back lazily in the corner of the couch, shifting his upper body so that he faces me more straight on. I'm quite confused - what exactly is he asking me? "Tell me what you see when you look at me."

...Huh? What I see when... I look at him? Isn't that obvious? I see a tall, toned and well-built male in his early twenties, with strange blue hair kept in some kind of fashionable style, large electric-blue eyes with green markings in the corners (I wonder if that is some kind of makeup or a tattoo, I haven't seen him without it now that I think about it) and a strong set jaw showing off his masculinity yet still gentle enough features to give him some feminine beauty; to me, he is the ultimate male model, simply perfect. But... I can't tell him _that_, and somehow I don't think that's what he wants to know.

"I s-see a strong personality," I begin with, unsure of how to explain myself. "Someone who knows his own flaws and frankly doesn't care about it." His expression never changes, making me nervous, but also striking a nerve inside of me, making me continue with this weird description of the person in front of me. "I also see a caring person, one who would protect what he thinks is right." At least, that's what I think he would do, but I don't know him well enough to actually have any proof. "I see someone who has a lot of friends." I realize now - we are the complete opposites of each other. I look down again, unable to face him now that the realization is so strong inside of me; I just _don't belong_ here.

"You wanna know what I see when I look at you?" he asked, and I tense up. No, I don't want to know, it's too painful to hear, but he doesn't give me the choice to reply. "I see a brave guy, whom sticks up to his friends and doesn't really fall for prejudice." I blink at that. "I see a person who would go between a fight, just to save a friend, even if you got caught in the middle. I see someone who holds onto what he has, and doesn't give up. But..." Here it comes. I know what he's gonna say. He's gonna say that I'm pathetic, that I can't stick up for myself, that I hide behind walls because I'm too much of a coward to do any of what he already said. "But I see an uncertainty that clouds all of this." I knew it. Perhaps not the choice of words I had expected, but it's still the same. I close my eyes painfully hard to keep the tears from showering down my cheeks, but I don't know how long I can pretend to be strong. "You fear the consequences. Deep down, you have told yourself that you are alone, and you constantly fight your instinct to defend both others and yourself. You think that you will act outside of your boundary if you go out there and claim space, so you crawl into a tiny ball in a corner instead, hoping you won't be in the way." He is right, I do that subconsciously. "Your fear of rejection is what makes you lonely, Keigo. But..." A hard pull on my hair makes me yelp in pain and look over at the now smiling face of Jaegerjaquez. "You're _not_ alone. I'm here, aren't I? I'm rather accepting, don't you think?" Yes, but that's exactly what I don't understand. Why _is_ he spending time with a loser like me? I just don't get it... "So, seeing as I'm not going anywhere... You mind opening up for me?"

O-opening up? For him? How am I supposed to do that? What is he expecting from me? He doesn't seem hostile, but his dominant expression is enough to send shivers down my spine; I really am a coward.

"Look... I see the potential in you, Keigo. And it sneaks out whenever you're not thinking about it. But when you do start to think of your actions, that's when you get insecure and shut yourself off. I'm your friend, alright? You should be yourself with me." He leans forward now, staring into my eyes. "I think I deserve that."

"Y-Yes." Of course he deserves that, whatever 'that' is. I mean, he sees a 'me' that I don't recognize, a side of me I don't know. How am I supposed to just give him that?

_Game Over_

"Huh?" Game over? Damn! "T-the game!" I shout, staring at the TV-screen, disappointed that we just died after so many unsaved levels! Oh, why did this have to happen!

"Forget the fuckin' game!" Jaegerjaquez snaps, and I find myself pressed into the couch, suddenly lying sideways across the soft cushions with a much larger male above me, now glaring. What did I do to upset him? And where is the white cat, aren't we crushing it right now? Apparently not, because I doubt it would lie silently while being suffocated by us. Now why is those electric blue eyes suddenly so angry? he is scaring me! "The freakin' _game_ can wait!" he snarls, face close to mine and I can feel my own trembling through his body. "We can play that fuckin' game over and over again, it won't go anywhere. But _life_does not wait, Keigo! You only live once!" I know that, but what am I supposed to do, then? And why is he scaring me like this, flipping out like this from out of the blue - can't he see how terrified I am? "Don't let life pass by coz' you're scared," he continues, a little softer now than before. "It pains me to see how you're just giving up. How you simply accept any situation you land in, not even requesting an explanation. For once, just follow your damn instincts!"

My insticts? My instincts tells me to get the hell away from him, but... my body does not agree. I can't move. Not even blink, or breathe, I'm just lying here. I'm scared, but not petrified, and still I feel a strange calmness settle inside my chest; it feels very unfamiliar, I can't put a name to what I'm feeling. What am I supposed to do?

"I wasn't always like that, ya'know." He's calm again, but he still hasn't moved away from me, effectively keeping me in place beneath him on the couch. "What you said about me." He's resting his head against the couch, his eyes closed so I can't look into them for answers. But I listen carefully - perhaps the answers are within his words. "When I came here, eight years ago, I was alone. My family was still in Belgium, and I didn't know a soul in this entire country. In school I was alone coz' I was the new kid, the foreigner - no one wanted anything to do with me. I got into a lot of trouble that first year, got shifted between different homerooms; the teachers pathetic attempts to find me a place where I fit in. It didn't really work, I just felt more and more alone the more people I got shunned by. I even considered going back to Belgium. But that's when I met Ilforte and the others. They were different, too. Foreigners, and shunned by school-society. Well, Nnoitra and Tesla aren't foreigners, but Nnoitra's personality and background made everyone dislike him. We all learned to accept our stand-point, we teamed up, and decided that no one else's opinion mattered. That's when I became who I am today."

While I listened to his story, I felt a completely new feeling inside of me. I suddenly knew where that understanding in his eyes came from. We aren't all that different, then - or at least, he knows where I'm coming from. He knows. He _understands_. Although our situations are vastly different, it's still the same mental challenge, the same feeling of hopelessness and powerless fear. I have been so stupid, assuming that Jaegerjaquez has had it so much easier than me. I am such a hypocrite. Following my instincts, he said. I don't think my instincts are enirely _sane_, but if that is his wish then his word is my command; he might get more than he bargained for, but he asked for it.

My instinct is to lift my arms, snake them around the toned body above me, and press him towards me in a very awkward hug. I shouldn't fear the consequences, he'd said, so I am more than prepared for being pushed away this time; but this time, I will accept it, I am ready for it. He doesn't push me away, though. He actually melts against me, hugging me back in an equally awkward position. It is such a relief to feel accepted, to be able to act unexpectedly and not get scolded for it. I think I could get used to this.

* * *

Ray blond and golden blond, mocha and gore eyes, black and white clothes - perfect match on the dancefloor. Ilforte had finally managed to convince his friend to dance one single dance with him, and he wouldn't accept no for an answer; no one can stand up to his beauty for too long anyway. They sure received a lot of glances and looks, some less approving because they are two males, but Ilforte doesn't matter. Dancing is fun, it doesn't matter who it's with as long as the other is equally good. Besides, they have been dancing with a lot of girls all evening, one puny dance with another male won't hurt. It's not like their image will be blemished. Besides, they had been working all night to reach a certain point, and it was nearly ready to wrap it up.

"Bro, you're trying very hard tonight," Ilforte commented, standing close to his friend because the dancefloor was over-filled with bodies brushing up against each other. "She's a lovely girl, though."

"Do you think she likes me?" Tesla asked, feeling uncertain and nervous himself.

"Of course she does, bro! She's been looking at you all evening." His smile held no lies, but then Ilforte isn't known for telling lies either; not even white lies. _' The truth, no matter how painful, shall come out'_, that's what he always says. "But you don't need to play on your looks. She's seen you, she knows what you offer, and she hasn't left yet."

"Hmpf, _you_ take advantage of your looks all the time!" Tesla defended. "But I guess you're right. I think her friend is jealous of you, though."

Indeed, Tesla's date's friend had been glaring at Ilforte all evening, refusing to stand or sit too close to him. Jealousy over such a thing as natural beauty is only too natural for the simple-minded. All Ilforte can do is shrug it off and move on.

"You should've brought my bro instead, he might've been able to make her swooon."

"He was busy tonight," Tesla admitted. "Nnoitra would only scare them all off, and Grimmjow is out of the question. Not that I asked any of them - you were the natural choise."

"Hmpf, yeah you always bring me on your dates. What am I, your good-luck charm?" It wasn't said with spite, more with a friendly mocking tone. "By the way, do you think Grimey is behaving with Keigo in his apartment?"

"He better be."

"Ah, but we all know what he's like, bro. He doesn't know boundaries even if it's being shouted at him."

"We'll just have to have faith in him."

Yeah, faith... That's something Ilforte has a hard time to get around when it comes to Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez.

* * *

The fight had ended long ago, but Ichigo had to stay to make sure his brother was alright. He had felt his presence in the factory, and he had heard the fight outside on the background; he couldn't help feeling a little bit frightened. He was never worried about himself - somehow he would always come out of it alive - but his brother was reckless, too sure of his abilities, and underestimating everyone else. Just about anything can happen when you underestimate an enemy. Chad had left shortly after the fight ended, but Ichigo had found a spot where he could look at the background, determined to stay until he knew it was safe to go home.

Renji was down there as well. He was a good fighter, always had been, and it was obvious that he had a lot of pent up emotions that he needed to get out somehow - fighting is always a good way to find some kind of emotional peace. It hadn't been his intention to hurt the redhead like that, but he couldn't understand why he was being such a baby about it now. It's months ago already! Rukia left him, so what? Life goes on, it always does. He thought Renji was man enough to understand that, but apparently he was wrong - and he managed to turn Shiro against him too. It's not fair. All Ichigo had done was to fall in love with Rukia; now he's being punished for it. He wouldn't have acted on it if Rukia hadn't felt the same way. Isn't that reason enough why she shouldn't have stayed with Renji? And reason enough for Ichigo to leave Orihime. Why can't they simply accept that it's over and move on, without making it so difficult?

Speaking of Rukia... She won't be pleased when she finds out that Ichigo had once again been fighting; she's annoying that way. She knew about his fighting even before she became interested in him - she will have to accept that part of him aswell. She never complained this much about Renji's fighting...

Shiro and Renji was making their way out off of the factory's background now, helping keep each other upright, their enemies and allies already gone or leaving. Aside from nose-bleeding and a few scratches, they both look fine. That's all Ichigo needed to know.

* * *

A few hours later, electric-blue eyes slid open into slits. He was a light sleeper, even the slightest movement would cause him to wake up, but this time it wasn't coz his cats had jumped atop of him. No, something was touching his hair. More accurately - a _hand_was caressing him, petting him almost as if he were a cat. Glancing slightly around, he realize that he's still on the couch, and what could have been the armrest proved to be Keigo's lap; apparently, Jaegerjaquez had taken a nap, using Keigo's legs as his pillow. What was petting his hair was actually Keigo. Not that he minded, it was quite soothing and relaxing to be patted like that; though he couldn't help but smile, seeing as Keigo was asleep, and still his hand kept moving. Jaegerjaquez carefully shifted to look at his watch; 03:45. That means they still have a few more hours to sleep, preferably in a more comfortable place.

Even before he did it, Grimmjow regretted sitting up, missing the comfortable strokes of the other's hand. He poked Keigo on the arm, and the brunette jumped, looking around quite disoriented.

"Huh? What? Where?"

"Mate, sleeping like this'll not be good for our backs." Brown-speckled-with-green finally locked with electric blue orbs, first clouded by surprise and confusion, then showered with remembrance, remembering where he is and why he was there. "Come, le'z get to someplace more comfortable."

Half in a daze, Keigo followed the bluehaired male into the dark bedroom. Black walls, no window, and even black silk in the bed; everything was black or at least very dark. If Keigo had been more aware, he would have realized that this was Jaegerjaquez bedroom, and that he was lead there for a purpose, but he was too tired to remember his own name and simply did as told. Jaegerjaquez was stripping down to his underwear, and made Keigo do the same, still not sure whether the brunette was aware of anything or not (which he wasn't), but he wouldn't have anyone sleep in their clothes; not on his bed, anyway. He lead the brunette to the bed, made him lie down, and then laid down next to him, pulling the covers on top of them. His electric blue eyes lingered on the other's already sleeping face before him, loving the way the darkness surrounded them and how he was still able to see him; almost as if the brunette was lighting up his bedroom with his mere presence. He couldn't stop his hand from reaching out and touching a few strands of that brown hair.

"G'night, pup," he whispered softly, closing his eyes to join his friend in dreamworld.

"Nnn, night, kitten," came a mumbled, tired and almost inaudible voice, making Grimmjow's eyes widen in surprise. "Nnnniiice kitty..."

"Keh." A full-blown grin spread across Grimmjow's face as he carefully ruffled the brown hair of his friend, Keigo unconsciously leaning into his hand. "Sweet dreams, you mongrel."

That was the last coherent thought that went through Jaegerjaquez' mind before his eyes finally slid closed and his mind went blank. And who knows, perhaps the blue kitty _did_ meet the brown puppy in dreamworld...

* * *

**A/N:**

Too much of a disappointment?

I am all ears, please tell me your thoughts regarding my story, I am very curious :) Anything about this chapter you're wondering about? Anything in particular you'd like to see more of in the next chapter?

Remember, I am not against criticism - in fact, I will learn from it. (Just, remember that I do know about the spelling-errors, so you don't need to remind me of that.) ^^

So, my dear readers, tell me... What do you pray will happen in the upcoming chapters? Is there anything you really really really want to read? Any incident with any of the side-characters you'd like to read?

Thank you all ^^  
**REVIEW**

**/**_**Namantos**_


	13. Chapter 13

**Hello!**

Yes, I am still here and... I apologize for my laziness! Honestly, I feel bad for taking so long time and not coming with a longer chapter.

The reason it's taking time is because a lot of things have happened since my latest update. First, my cat has passed on to the world beyond (love him, miss him and can't stop hearing him tap around on the floor behind me). Secondly, my ex is being a bastard and making my life miserable coz that's what he does best. And thirdly, I've been working long hours (mostly 12-21, and it will be 5 days in a row now with those hours - I feel broken already).

Ah, but that's a poor excuse.

I've written more, but I haven't put it on my computer yet, so I thought I'd give you what I've gotten down and to let you all know that I haven't given up on the story yet.

_Thanks to all of you for your support and your reviews!_

* * *

**UNPREDICTABLE**

Warm and cosy, that's the first things that registered as he started to wake up. Not too soft and not too hard, the rhythmic feeling of breathing all around him, even the soft purrs were very relaxing. It's like he woke up in heaven after a good night's sleep. Hang on... Breathing? Purrs? And is this... silk?

Brown-speckled-with-green shot open, staring straight at the multi-coloured cat sleeping next to him by the pillow, on top of black silk. Cats and silk? Black walls? He shifted his head to look on the other side of the bed, spotting the large white cat sleeping on top of his blue-haired friend. Keigo had no memory of getting into this bedroom, but he did have a vague recollection of patting a rather weird-looking cat... Blue, was it?

Movements caught his eye as electric-blue orbs lazily opened, blinking out the sleep. The male stretched, looking very much like a cat at that moment and making a similar sound too. It was quite enchanting to see, actually. But... Why was he in a silk-dressed bed with Jaegerjaquez? And why wasn't his friend wearing any clothes? Come to think of it... Keigo wasn't wearing much either, which made him internally panic for a moment. However, if anything inappropriate had happened the night before, he would have known. He decided to trust his judgement instead of letting his thoughts wander to unbelievable theories, such as him being drugged and used and therefore not remembering - his body felt fine, so it was ridiculous to even go there.

"Good morning," he sleepily greeted before any thoughts could get the better of him. A smirk set on his lips when he caught the startle Jaegerjaquez couldn't suppress; the way he stopped all movements and stared was totally worth it.

"G'mornin'," Jaegerjaquez replied as soon as the shock subsided, then he absently grinned and looked around. "You got yourself a friend." He motioned towards the cat lying next to Keigo. He was quite surprised to learn that Reaper got that close to anyone; he was always the protective cat, wanting nothing to do with strangers. But he obviously took a liking to Keigo, and by the looks of things, the boy didn't mind having the unpredictable cat that close either. He then noticed the third, more withdrawn cat, down by their feet. "Ah, even _you_, huh? Well, blimey, this bed has never been this crowded before."

Keigo felt an unexpected blush appear on his cheeks, unable to explain why it suddenly just attacked him like that. Was it because he had been sleeping next to someone for the first time? Was it because it was _Jaegerjaquez_? Or had it something to do with the suggestive way the bluenette had said that last part? He couldn't explain it, and trying to rationalize the situation would only make it all the more worse in his head; it's too early to be thinking this much after all. To put his mind on other things, he looked down at the completely black, normal sized cat sleeping soundlessly by their feet. This was the first time he saw the black cat, because it was very good at hiding.

"Tha'z Pantera," Jaegerjaquez said, looking at the black cat. "Found 'im on the doorstep a few months ago, an' when no one claimed 'im I took 'im in. Kishire always wanted a kitten, so she took care of 'im immediately." He patted the head of the white cat that stretched out across his chest and abdomen. "She never realized he was full-grown when he got here. Silly fur-ball."

"You really love cats, don't you." _Gah, where the hell did that come from_, Keigo wondered, darkening his blush by several shades. He sure say the most stupid things when he's tired or newly awakened.

"Hm?" Jaegerjaquez looked at him questioningly, as if he too wondered where that comment had come from. "Of course I do, why else would I have three of 'em?" Yes, that's why Keigo thought the comment had been pointless - it was already obvious. Though, he grew a bit uneasy when he saw the questioning blue eyes turn into something completely different, and a smile was presented. "Though, there is this really cute puppy that I've seen; a Lab, I should think. It has these big, expressive eyes and is really hyperactive; the kind of pup that you don't wanna let go of."

"Really?" Keigo likes dogs, at least as long as they are puppies!

"Yeah..." The smile turned smug, and Jaegerjaquez reached over to ruffle the brown hair. "He's got soft, brown hair, and is completely oblivious to everything I'm saying."

"H-hey!" As soon as realization hit, the blush spread all over Keigo's face, turning him into a bright tomato. He quickly pulled the covers above his head to hide the blush, refusing to come back out. "D-don't speak like that! It's embarrassing..."

"Aww, come on, mate!" Jaegerjaquez began to pull the covers, but it was held with an iron-fist. "Ya slept an entire night next to me, now is not the time to be modest!"

"I was sleeping when you brought me here!" Keigo defended, voice muffled by the pillow. "Speaking of which, how did you get me in here?" He dared a peek out from under the silky covers, meeting a toothy grin that would've scared him if he hadn't been expecting it already. "And how did you get my clothes off?"

"You walked in here yourself, and I told you to strip." An elegant eyebrow arched upwards and a mischievous glint appeared in those electric blue eyes. "You're quite docile when half asleep."

In a moment of frozen embarrassment, Keigo failed to hold onto the covers when Jaegerjaquez snatched them off of him, leaving him completely out of any cover. The movements from the older male had disturbed the sleeping white cat, though, and it decided to jump off of Jaegerjaquez chest - Keigo almost wished she had chosen to lie on _him_ instead; it was freezing cold in the apartment! And the laughter from the other, as he watched Keigo's still beat-red face and now shaking form, well, it was not fun at all.

"Not fair," he pouted, feeling a lot like the puppy he was being compared to.

"Aww, did the big, mean cat steal the puppy's cover?" mocked the blue-haired male, all wrapped up inside his black silky bed sheets, only his face visible and showing his perfectly white, pointy teeth in a wide grin. "Why don'cha come an' get it back? Scared?" Somewhere, deep inside Jaegerjaquez' mind, he had hoped for a certain reaction, but he hadn't expected it to become real - that's why, when Keigo's eyes turned competitive, Jaegerjaquez own eyes narrowed suspiciously, watching what the other might do. Even so, trying to expect the unexpected, he couldn't suppress the undignified sound he emitted when Keigo actually pounced. "Grah!"

Now, use your imagination to picture two males, both only clad in their underwear, rolling around on a large bed, pulling and pushing, fighting for the cover. A very strange and absurd wrestling game, indeed. The covers were already forgotten, tossed aside like it had never been there in the first place. Who won? Ah, the one with the most muscles, of course. Keigo got pinned beneath the stronger male rather quickly, and as he laid there, vulnerable and embarrassed, staring at a grin wider than Nnoitra's, he couldn't help but tremble slightly. In school, they sometimes have wrestling in PE, but they have clothes separating their skin - this was a completely different situation. Yes, he often ended up losing, so the position was familiar, but feeling another's bare torso and abdomen against his own... it was very uncomfortable. At least, that's what Keigo told himself. It should feel the same way for Jaegerjaquez too, only he seemed quite content with his position; as if being this close to another male, almost naked, didn't bother him at all. If his arms hadn't been pinned above his head, Keigo would've attempted to free himself, but as it was he was almost too afraid to even breathe. If he looks scared, it's only because he _is_.

Grimmjow could feel how the younger male was trembling and misread the signs, assuming Keigo was cold and not scared. So, with a wide grin, he decided to be kind and share some of the heat - that's what friends do, right? Lying down flat against the other male, resting his head in the crook between Keigo's throat and shoulder, Grimmjow closed his eyes contently and let out a sigh, completely missing the fact that the other was holding his breath and turning slightly pale.

"If ya were this cold, ya could've told me," he said with a low purr. Grimmjow doesn't mind sharing at all, despite what others might think - and by that he means that he has enough heat in his body to cover for ten people, so if Keigo is cold he will make sure to warm him up. "Oi, pup... We've gotten pretty close lately, ey?" He felt a small nod from the other and a flutter of hope washed through his body, settling in his stomach. Then...

"Too close."

"Huh?" As simple as that, all hope was crushed. No, actually _melted_ inside his veins, burning like acid. _'Too close'_... He had wanted to hear _'not close enough'_ and been pulled into a mindblowing kiss that would sweep him off his feet. Doesn't look bright on that department now, does it. But wait... Wasn't there something wrong with Keigo's voice? It sounded... strained. Slowly lifting his head, trying to wipe off the disappointment, all he only really wanted was to smack the other for crushing him so brutally. "Too cl-" He stopped abruptly when his eyes landed on the pale form beneath him. "K-Keigo!" It's not that the other wasn't responding, it was more that he couldn't. "Oi!" Grimmjow freaked out at the sight of the bluish lips, recognizing the signs - he grabbed Keigo's shoulder with one hand while supporting himself with his other arm, and then gave the younger male a forceful shove as if to wake him up. "You gotta breathe, Keigo!" By now, he was panicking. "I've never learned mouth-to-mouth, but if you don't start to breathe _now_ I fucking _will!_"

That did it. Keigo immediately drew a deep breath, seemingly unaware of the fact that he hadn't been breathing up until the point Grimmjow started to panic. His eyes was wide, filled with terror and shock, and his hands gripped Grimmjow's shoulders as if he needed to assure himself that he wasn't dead. Needless to say, but Grimmjow was so relieved he released a loud sigh.

"Damnit, Keigo, don't freakin' scare me like that," he whispered, leaning his forehead on Keigo's shoulder.

"S-sorry," Keigo whispered back, still in shock and breathing raggedly. He wasn't exactly sure what had happened himself; all he knew was that his lungs had cramped up and had seemingly stopped working after a deep breath and then held that air inside for so long it had come out in a pitiful whimper that had hopefully gone unnoticed, swallowed up by Grimmjow's panicked voice. He wasn't sure _why_ they cramped up, but it had something to do with Grimmjow being so close. The closeness was bothering Keigo, or at least made him feel something he was certain wasn't appropriate - that's why he freaked and his lungs were quickest to follow up on his mental shut-down. He'd have to remind himself that he needs oxygin to survive, because it's quite painful to die of suffocation.

"'S alright, mate, just don't do it again."

_'I didn't do it on purpose'_ Keigo wanted to say, but his voice escaped him. It's not that he didn't want the closeness (because he did - it made him feel appreciated) but the feelings that came with the contact was confusing. On one hand he never wanted to move from the position he was in, but on the other hand he wanted to run out of there; he's torn between the two options.

"Oi, we don't have much time before we're to meet Szayel," Grimmjow reminded, lifting his head to check the clock on the nightstand. "You should go take a shower while I make us some breakfast. Nothing fancy, but it'll fill us up until we can go buy something more healthy."

_'Shower?'_

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**A/N:**

Thank you all for reading, I never thought this story would get this much viewers ^^

Disappointment? Okay?

Either way, I'll update as soon as I get a moment of rest from the slave-workers disguised as my bosses!

P.S. Sorry for misspellings and grammatical errors!

/Namantos


	14. Chapter 14

**GREETINGS again, my friends.**

**This time I won't apologize for being slow on the updates - there is no excuse, except from the usual: I'm lazy and my muse isn't following procedure.**

**However, I think I've gotten some of the spirit back, thanks to a certain someone who surprised me with a "fanart" of Grimmjow/Keigo - thank you, Pri-TheBishounenPuppeteer ^^**

**Admittedly, I have a lot of reviewers to thank. I think I may need to work on a "thank-you" column soon. Though I want everyone to know that I value all of you ecually much.**

**I have written a short update just to let you all know I'm still around. I apologize for grammatical errors and such (like always) and I hope that this short chapter will keep you interested to keep reading. I am working on the next update as we speak, but I can't make any promises on when it will be finished (everytime I promise something, it goes down the drain anyway). So enjoy the reading!**

**Chapter 14.**

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**GRIMMJOW P.O.V.**

Leaning against the wall outside his bathroom, listening to the water spraying on a naked body, cleaning perfect skin and placing a new scent on the person inside, it took all of Grimmjow's will-power to not run inside and join his friend. He couldn't act on impulse, he had to step carefully unless he wanted to scare the boy away forever. But lord knows he was suffering. His own feelings had surprised him, and up until last night he had not wanted to entertain the thoughts he had of the younger male; he was certain that Keigo would escape from his grasp if he made a move too fast, and just looking at the brunette made him question if there ever would come a good enough time to make an advance. But that's part of what Grimmjow likes about Keigo - the naivety, the innocence, and the blushes could drive him mad. After this morning, Grimmjow also realized that he couldn't bare to lose him; he was so scared when he thought Keigo would reject him even before he made a move - and the sight of Keigo suffocating was... well, terrifying. What had caused such a reaction? Either way, Grimmjow realized he would have to play a completely different role if he wanted to get closer to Keigo - he would have to learn how to fish, coz if he couldn't get Keigo to bite then it wouldn't happen at all. For now, Grimmjow would use his charm to make Keigo interested, to give him the courage to act on impulse instead of hiding behind his fears. And if Keigo didn't take the bite, then it wasn't meant to be. Playing with his own feelings isn't something Grimmjow would normally do - when he wanted something, he'd take it; and when he got tired of it, he'd dump it. But this time was different. He couldn't do that to Keigo. For now, he would have to settle with friendship and entertain his dirty thoughts in his dreams.

When the water was shut off, Grimmjow hurried into his kitchen so to not be found dreaming outside the door - that would've no doubt scared Keigo. And after that it only took a few minutes before Keigo joined him by the table, all dressed in borrowed clothes and his still partially wet hair leaving wet stains on the t-shirt. At least Grimmjow could gloat in the fact that Keigo was wearing _his _clothes and carrying _his _scent - he absolutely loved how his clothes were too big for the younger male, and Grimmjow'sscent mixed perfectly with Keigo's own personal scent. He wanted to tell Keigo all of this, too, but he didn't think that _'you smell great, and you look absolutely adorable in my clothes'_would make a good morning-conversation. They ate quickly and mostly in silence, then Grimmjow took a quick shower aswell, getting dressed in casual clothes and found a belt for Keigo to keep the borrowed jeans from slipping down his hips. Ah, but what a marvelous sight that would've been... and if Szayel was close by when it happened, Grimmjow could've gotten a poster of Keigo with his trousers down, coz no one is faster with the camera than the younger Granz-brother.

"Ready to go?" Grimmjow asked, making sure his cats had food and water before picking up his keys, glancing at the high-scholar leaning against his kitchen-counter.

"As ready as I'll ever be, I suppose." Yes, Keigo is still unsure of this whole arrangement, certain that he must be the worst and ugliest model there has ever been throughout the world history. But at least Szayel seems pleased, and that was the only thing that mattered. It's not like Keigo wanted a career as a model - he'd die of embarrassment!

"Then lets go!"

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Making Szayel and Yumichikawait was not on their list of top priorities, for they would have hell to pay of those two perfectionists weren't pleased. That's why Grimmjow drove a tiny bit too fast, and Keigo'shand hurt badly from grasping the side-handle all the way to the studio. But the main thing was that they made it in one piece, and the pinkette and purplette weren't kept waiting for too long. Instead, the two males met Grimmjow and Keigo with creepy smiles and friendly comments, which was possibly even worse than if they'd been giving them a hard time for being five minutes late.

"Good morning," Szayel greeted. "We've got your clothes here, and Yumi is ready to put your face on, Kei-kun. Let's hurry this up, shall we?"

_'At least'_, Keigo thought, _'I won't be forced into wearing a dress or something.'_ But you could never be too sure with those two...

::::

Keigo was mighty impressed by Grimmjow's self-made make-up (or whatever you call it) - it made him look like a completely different person; smoother skin (which made him look younger), more distinguished eye-markings (are those things tattoos?) and a jawbone was really the finishing touch - he looked perfect, and dangerous. Yes, Keigo was _very _impressed. He even felt a little jealous that Grimmjow was the perfect model, always knew what he was supposed to do, and did most things without complaints - Keigo wished he was more like his blue-haired friend.

After three hours in the studio with both Szayel and Yumichika fussing over them, it was time for a short break before going outside for the final shootings. It was obvious that the photographer and the stylist was pleased with their work so far (judging by their smiles, giggles and chuckles) but their behaviour was freaking Keigoout. The two kept looking at him as if they knew something he didn't, and it was vey unpleasant to be stared at like that. He wanted to ask Grimmjow about it, but the blunette seemed oblivious to it; or perhaps he was simply ignoring their behaviour. Come to think of it, Grimmjow was acting a bit weird aswell, what with ignoring Szayel and Yumi's obvious stares, _and_not even asking why Keigo looked so bothered.

Dread washed over Kego as he connected the weird realizations - something terrible was definitely about to happen, and most likely it had something to do with this shooting.

_'Oh my god, what if they really are going to put me in a dress!'_

:::

With dread pitted in his stomach, Keigo accepted his fate and let Szayel and Yumi dress him. He kept his eyes shut tightly to avoid dying before it's too late to run out - he's fairly sure Grimmjow stands ready in the doorway to catch him if he tries, and this time he just _might_bite his ear like he had threatened earlier. In fact, Keigo was so into chanting inside his head that he didn't feel the hands on him, fixing his clothes like professionals; he even shut off all the giggles and chuckles, which could only be a good thing not to hear. It wasn't until a low whistle caught his ears that he dared to open his eyes. Grimmjow was standing a few feet in front of him, eyeing him with wide cat-like eyes, all back in his human form yet dressed stylishly. The look he was giving Keigo made the brunette blush, and then there was this strange flashing light and both Keigo and Grimmjow grunted in surprise.

"Got'cha!" Szayel triumphed, grinning satisfactory with the camera held high in the air. "I could not pretend that I did not see that."

"Saw what?" Keigo barely whispered, startled and frozen on the spot.

"Shut up, pinky!" Grimmjow growled, glancing over at Keigo to make sure he was still alive.

"But I thought-"

"I said, _shut up!_"

"Fine!" Although, the smile did not leave Szayel's face, because he was certain he knew something the others refused to admit. "Shall we just get on with the shooting, then?" He left the room to pack the things he needed for this shooting, leaving the two models alone in the dressing-room.

Keigo was still in shock, wondering why he was so much closer to getting a heart-attack ever since he started hanging out with these guys. He was always so responsive to every little comment, probably misinterpreting them most of the times, and feeling guilty for coming to the wrong conclusion over and over. And also feeling shamefully mean for thinking they would put a dress on him - they weren't that mean, and Szayel would not waste away his opportunity to get this job (showing up with pictures of a transsexual would probably not benefit him all that much). So for doubting Szayel's professionalism (and Yumi's) Keigo felt extremely bad. They had given him clothes that were very nice, actually - though, it's easy to impress Keigo with clothes, because his sense of fashion is non-existent. But from what he could see in the mirror, he had been transformed into a fashionable, almost sexy-looking, young male. How was that even possible? He then remembered the look Grimmjow had given him, and the blush reappeared with a vengeance - could it be possible that his friend too had found his... kinda sexy? No way!

Glancing to where the blunette was standing, Keigo realized that Grimmjow looked like a shunned puppy - his head bent low and lips practically pouting, and with his side turned towards Keigo. Though, Keigo caught one blue eye still glancing at him, inspecting him from toe to top - and when that blue eye finally met his own eyes, Keigo's heart was performing a drum-solo in his chest. At first, Grimmjow seemed surprised to have been caught looking, but he steadied himself and cleared his throat.

"Uhm... It looks... good on you." Looking away, Grimmjow straightened himself up and hoped for the awkward silence to end.

"Eh..." Keigo couldn't help but feel relieved, but he didn't know why nor what he was relieved for. "T-Thanks."

"Yeah, well I ain't sure I wanna be on a photo with ya," Grimmjow continued, getting back into his usual calm and cool attitude. "You're gonna make _me _look pathetic."

"Are you kidding me?" Keigo shouted in disbelief, staring at Grimmjow as if he had gone insane. "You're sexier than any guy I've ever seen! I bet 80% of the male population of the world would be jealous of you! You can't even suggest that-" Keigo silenced himself by putting his hands over his mouth. Had he just said all of that out loud?

Meanwhile, Grimmjow was having a minor heart-attack. Never, not even in his wildest imaginations, had he ever pictured Keigo straight out claiming that he finds Grimmjow sexy. But he just _had_. and no matter how happy it made him feel to hear it, it was so much of a shock that he didn't know how to handle it.

"Uhm, I mean... Shit, I just... Eh, you know, I..." Stuttering like a fool, Keigo prayed that he hadn't said anything that would ruin what they had. Though, it would be his normal luck; ruining the only friendship he's had in the last couple of years, that would simply be the dot that makes the 'i'. He was trying to apologize for his choice of wording, but the blunette broke into a wide grin, effectively shutting down Keigo's brain for a few moments.

"So you find me sexy, ey." The easiest way to get out of this situation without making it uncomfortable was to joke and make the joke as honest as possible. Since Grimmjow finds _himself _sexy too, that shouldn't be so hard to do. "I didn't know you have such a good taste." He winked playfully at the brunette.

"S-shut up!" The smile tugging at Keigo's lips was evident, though he tried hard not to show it. However, he was eternally grateful for Grimmjow's easy-go attitude - it sure made it a lot easier to move on from such an embarrassing statement.

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**A/N:**

Thank you for reading - Please Review.

Both positive and negative comments are welcome - pointing out my errors can only make me better.

**Namantos**


	15. Chapter 15

**Greetings and hello ^^**

Someone requested a longer chapter, so I did my best to make it a little longer this time. It could've gotten longer, but I decided it was a good idea to cut it here.

A small notification : a group called **Bizarre-Pairings** has been created on _Deviant Art _for those of you who are interested. It was started by _Pri-ThePuppeteer _(I am the co-founder: _Kitsune-rage_) - check up our group or join us ^^

There are lots of bizarre and odd Bleach pairings going on in there - a lot of Grimm/Keigo too :)

Anyway... Here's the newest chapter of Unpredictable - I hope you will enjoy.

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Taking pictures outside had been cold and attracted a lot of attention from by-passers who wondered what was going on - Keigo's constant blushing was enough to put Yumi in a bad mood, wanting to put more powder on him to conseal it, but Szayel would not permit it, claiming that the blush is what makes Keigo his masterpiece. Besides that, they were two models on most of the pictures - having to constantly put himself in a good position with the taller blunette had him walking on eggshells (yes, he felt like an alien). There was one picture where Grimmjow was squatting down next to Keigo and turned towards him, when Keigo had no idea as to what to do with himself, so he had simply placed his hand atop Grimmjow's head and stroked. Apparently this was very popular with Szayel, for he squealed and snapped several pictures before either Keigo or Grimmjow had a chance to react. Not to mention the priceless look on Grimmjow's face - a mix of surprise, unease and the need to purr and stroke his head against the hand. Instead of spooking Keigo, all of this actually boosted him into trying more poses. The blush remained, of course, but he wasn't as stiff anymore.

"I think, " Szayel had said at one point, "that we'll need to take a new group-photo one day. Kei-kun, you wouldn't break my heart and refuse, would you?" Can you imagine anything but a creepy, demanding smirk or grin on Szayel's face? Well, try to imagine this - large, watery puppy-eyes (apparently he has learned something from watching Keigo, even imitate his puppy-look). This was creepy enough to make a mute Keigo agree to take a group-photo, even though he had no idea what it meant. "Oh, by the way... We'll need to discuss what you'll let me do with these pictures," Szayel had said to Keigo.

"Uhm..." Knowing nothing about any of it, Keigo shrugged. "Just, do what you please."

"Excellent!"

"Hn, you have _no idea_ what you just agreed to, do you?" But the serious words were lost on Keigo, because he only saw the grin on Grimmjow's face. "Well, Keigo, let's go change and get something to eat! I'm starving!" Grimmjow placed an arm across Keigo's shoulders and started walking, casually following Yumichika and Szayel towards the studio. "So how'd ya like being a model, hn?"

"I suppose it was... interesting." No other word came to mind except 'scary' and 'horrible', but he was afraid that Szayel might overhear if he mentioned that - and he did not want to face the pinkette's wrath. Though, in all honestly, he had found it to be _fun_ as well. Maybe that's because it has been so long since he last did something with friends, apart from gaming or going to a party. How pathetic.

_"Yohoo!"_

Jaegerjaquez visibly froze, shoulders tense and eyes wide, dread filling his whole being. That voice, that simple sound was enough to put him on a run most days, but today he had instictively frozen; he couldn't leave Keigo in that _'thing's'_ presence - such a thing would be devastating at best. It wouldn't be better by much if he stayed either, but at least he could prevent _some_ things from happening. That's the least he could do... for Keigo's sake.

It was a different matter for Keigo, though. He didn't recognize the voice simply because he had never herd it before, and it sounded friendly enough to make him turn and face whoever it was who was calling. What he saw was this... A short male about as short as Mizuiro, and quite possibly cosplaying as a woman, flat dark hair formed like some sort of a helmet around a rounded face, tight white pants in an unknown material and a matching, equally tight jacket in white and pink with wide sleeves. He wore an obviously fake smile, almost sickening to look at, and strolled towards them with childish grace. Or rather, he strolled up to Jaegerjaquez, threw his arms around the taller man's neck, rose on the tip of his toes and in one swift movement captured the blunette's lips in a far from shy kiss. Keigo's eyes grew to the size of plates, staring at the unlikely scenario before him.

It took a few moments for Grimmjow's mind to register what was going on, but once it finally clicked, it only took a fraction of a second for him to push to short male away from him. Staring with anger at the newly arrived male, he felt the sudden need to beat the crap out of the idiot for ruining his day - what the hell was he thinking, kissing him like that in front of Keigo! If he ruined his chances with Keigo, he would kill the bastard.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing?" demanded Grimmjow.

"Aww, don't be like that, Grimm," the male smiled innocently, hiding his mouth behind the too long sleeve as if it would make him cuter. "Aren't you going to introduce me to your friend?"

"No need," Grimmjow growled, casting a quick glance at the gaping brunette, obviously still in shock. "He doesn't need to know trash." He aimed to grab Keigo (when had he let go of him?) and pull him away from the bubble-head, but said bubble suddenly appeared right between them, standing up close to Keigo and giving him one of his most innocent smiles. "Oi, get away from him!"

"Hi there!" the short male greeted. "My name is Luppi, but a handsome guy like you can call me-"

"Enough!" Grimmjow pushed the shorter male away from Keigo, planting himself firmly between the two. "What are you trying to accomplish?"

"Accomplish?" Luppi giggled. "Oh, that's right. You are so unfamiliar with _politeness_ that you don't know what it's used for." His sweet smile turned scornful, and his purple eyes grew evil. "You are used to just _getting it your way_, aren't you?" His voice remained sweet to those who is not familiar enough to hear the mocking tone underneath, but Grimmjow knows it all but too well. "You waltz in, claiming, not giving a toss about politeness or a care about anyone else's feelings."

"Yeah, well I'd rather do that than walk around with a fake smile, spitting lies all day long!" If it hadn't have been for Keigo standing behind Grimmjow, the blunette would have ignored the other, but when accusations was thrown about like this he had to defend himself. He couldn't let Keigo believe he was some sort of bastard, which was exactly what Luppi was making him out to be. "And what the hell gave you the right to kiss _me?_ Or is that also a part of that _'politeness'_ you referred to?" At least that remark put a frown on the other's face.

"Che, how rude, Grimmjow." Luppi kept his voice silky. "I always greet you like that. It's what you want. You said so."

Lies. It's all lies! By now, all Grimmjow wanted to do was plant his fist against the bitch's nose and watch it bleed, but he couldn't; not with Keigo present to see. The only thing he could do at this moment was to turn around, grab Keigo like in his previous plan, and leave; hopefully the bubble-head would not follow.

Keigo, seeing all of it in a state of surprise and confusion, was quite shocked when Grimmjow grabbed his arm and hauled him with him. From the look on Luppi's face, Keigo could tell that the short male had done it all to put Grimmjow in a bad position, but why? Who was this guy and what was his relation to Grimmjow? Why had he... _kissed_ him?

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"Stop checkin' up on me, you're not my mother!"

"I am _concerned_ about you."

"Why? Do I look like I'm starvin'? Do I seem likely to slit my wrist?" A steely purplish eye sent a death-glare at the woman refusing to back down. When she did not reply, it only fueled his anger. Today had been a good day, for a Sunday, but his good mood had been royally crushed when she had stormed into his apartment, asking him stupid questions and then just looking at him with that look in her eyes. "Why are you doing this?"

"I told you - I am concerned about you."

"You are intruding on my privacy, that's what ye're doing!" He wanted to throw her out the door, but that meant he actually had to touch her and the mere thought had him feeling nauseous. "If I wanted a mother, I'd acted nicer on all those trials, damnit! I don't want anyone feeling _sorry_ for me!"

"There is a difference with feeling sorry and being concerned, Nnoitra."

"And all _you_ do is look at me with _pity!_ You think I'm on the brink of suicide, you think I don't get enough food, you think I'm lonely - _pity!_"

"Are you saying you don't need me?" the green-haired female questioned calmly. "Are you throwing my kindness back into my face?" She eyes him with that same look, took in his hostile stand but paid no mind. "Trespassing into your home for a good cause, and you can't be grateful for my efforts. I do pity you for your simple-mindedness. Why can you not accept that you do need me? That you need somebody?"

"Coz' I _don't_. I've never needed _anyone_ before, an' nothin' you say can make me think otherwise."

"Just look at this dump you live in. You call this a proper home? You say that you don't and never have needed anyone, but tell me... How did you get that car you drive?"

"Why should I answer to you?" Nnoitra growled. But he knew he'd never get rid of her if he didn't answer. "Szayel bought a new car, he decided that instead of selling it he gave it to me so I wouldn't have to drive that old piece of shit I had before. Satisfied, bitch?"

"So you take charity, but not concern."

"It wasn't _charity!_"

"Did you pay for it? Was it a gift? That's charity."

"You obviously don't know Szayel, then. Now, you have ten seconds to be out of here, or someone'll be scrapin' you off of my floor."

"I suppose I have no choice but to leave, then." However, she was in no hurry to leave, taking her time to pick up her handbag and walk to the door. "Just be careful, Nnoitra."

Slamming the door shut even before she was fully outside (he couldn't care less if he hurt her in the process) and beating his clenched fist hard into the wall afterwards for good measure, he imagined it was her skull that made the sickening crunching sound that came from either the wall or his hand (whichever it was didn't matter). He hates her, he really does. She pokes her nose in where it doesn't belongs. How can she just stand there, so indifferent, claiming that she's _concerned_? She doesn't even _like_ him! She's obsessed with feeling needed, or at least that's the only explanation Nnoitra has for all of this. Doesn't she know that her words and her indifferent stance is more painful than any wound he has ever had to endure? It's like a blow beneath the belt to have someone _pitying_ you. It's like she thinks that it's her _duty_ to come into his home almost every day to torment him, to look down on him. Does it make her feel better? Does she feel better knowing she is better off than someone else? And what makes her think that Nnoitra isn't happy? He has friends, he's got a job, he pays his bills, have food on his table and if he wanted to then he'd be out with his friends every day. Could she be jealous of him? Either way, she is an annoyance, and it doesn't only anger Nnoitra that he has to put up with her; it's also smashing him to pieces.

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::...::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

It was only a kiss. A kiss is not such a big deal! I mean, there is _'kissing'_ and there is _'kissing'_ - there's a huge difference between those two! I'm just not sure what kind of kiss _that _one was. Could I ask? Do I want to know? Do I _really_ want to _know? _Actually, yes I do want to know, but I can't go up and just ask him! I would die of embarrassment! But... if I don't ask, the mystery around the subject will drive me crazy - I _have to_ know. Otherwise, every time I look at his lips, I will imagine them being tainted by those... lip-glossed girly lips of that _guy_! Even now as I stand here in the doorway watching Jaegerjaquez fix in the kitchen, I still see that weird guy pressing his lips against his. Maybe that's some form of greeting? To kiss... But it didn't seem like Jaegerjaquez particularly likes that Luppi; he actually seemed quite hostile. So maybe he doesn't like Luppi, but he didn't seem to mind the kiss per se - he didn't even rub it off! If that had been me, being kissed by another guy (especially one I dislike) I would've gone straight to wash my face, right before or after I puked up everything I ate before that!

...What if Jaegerjaquez is... What am I going to do? What if I ask him and he tells me that he is... that he likes... What if he is _gay?_ I wouldn't know how to deal with that. I haven't known anyone who is gay before! Oh my god! What will I do if he tries to rape me?

"Oi."

"Gyah!" He's glaring at me! Does that mean he's going to rape me now? Ah, he's coming closer!

"I know that I'm a star, but don't you have a TV at home?" Eh? He leans against the wall on the opposite side of the doorway, carrying a shit-eating grin and his eyes reminds me of those vicious cats he's got lurking about. "I'll give ya my autograph if ya really want it. You may even choose the area for me to sign."

"Huh?" Why does that give me weird images inside my head?

"Whaz' up, mate? You're very pale." Shit, now he looks worried. "Maybe you should lie down for a bit."

"N-no!" I am _not_ lying down anywhere in this apartment again! "I-I'm f-f-fine, honest!"

"You're lying." Damnit. "An' you're not leaving until you tell me what it really is." Crap...

"T-th-that k-kiss..." Why does he look like he has no idea what I'm speaking of? He was there! He _must_ know! "The k-k-ki... uhm..." Gah, I can't do this! I think I'm gonna faint. Got to save myself from this embarrassing situation, somehow. "I mean, you look fit." ...Sweat-drop... "Uhm, I mean, I'm sure you get lots of girls because you've got such a healthy body, right? D-do you think I could... train to look like you?"

"Lots of girls, ey?" He doesn't look convinced at all. In fact, he's so obviously unimpressed. "I'm sure I could get you into shape, but that's not what you wanted to ask." Why does he have to read me like an open book... I am lucky I've got the wall to support me, otherwise I'd be in a heap on the floor right now. Oh, but then he has to go and outdo himself by being so goddamn honest - I swear, I was _this close_ to fainting! "Would it really bother you this much if I am gay?"

"G..." Great, now I feel like such a bastard. "No! I just- I mean, I... I was just... wondering, that's all." I can't face him, feeling like a terrible friend. But he would tell me something important like that, right? He would've told me if he was gay! He is not the type of guy who would be embarrassed to admit something like that. Besides, I've slept in the same bed as him, and nothing happened. _Gulp_.

"What does it matter? I'm still the same guy whether I like males or females." He's right. I am being an idiot. But I still want to know. "But I have to admit, the fact that I am extremely attracted to you makes it difficult not to pin you against the wall and have my way with you right now."

_"W-what?"_ I gotta get out of here!

"Oi, I'm only teasing you." I stop myself from running out of there, deciding that I trust him, but there is still something he's not telling me. I really think I do want to get out of here now, just to clear my head. "But would it really be so terrible if I did happen to bat for the other team?"

"Eh, I g-guess not, but..." Still, the knowledge that my friend might develop an interest in me, or that I might walk in on him with another bloke... Well, I would be walking on eggshells all the time. I think I might be having a small panic attack here.

"Relax, it's not contagious. And I promise not to eat you. Well... unless I get really hungry."

"Huh?" I can't help but stare at him in disbelief, and I can't believe how easy he can laugh in a situation like this. It isn't funny at all! Wait... Was that an admission? Did he just admit to being gay? "Oh my g-"

"I'm just kidding, Keigo!" He shifted from laughing to glaring so quickly I actually missed the actual change. "Asexual." He turns his back on me and walks back into the kitchen. "I'm asexual, Keigo."

"Asexual?" Phew. That's kind of a relief. But... Why do I get the distinct feeling that he is upset with me? Did I do something wrong?

::::::::::

The feeling that I had somehow upset him didn't leave me for the rest of the day. Even as he drove me home, that annoying feeling was nagging in the back of my mind, but I tried to lighten the atmosphere by falling back on my far-from-serious-and-adult personality from back in junior high school; even though I did manage to get him to crack a smile or two, it still didn't make me feel any better. Was he really that upset with me asking about his sexual orientation? What's the big deal? Isn't it normal for friends to tell each other about these things? And besides, if he's asexual the question shouldn't really bother him in the first place. I just don't understand. Should I apologize? But I don't know what I'm apologizing for - apologizing for everything and nothing would only make me into a hypocrite. Right?

I stood by my door and watched him drive off again, only then realizing that this was the first time he hadn't followed me all the way to the door. It shouldn't bother me as much as it does; the best thing to do would be to ignore it, but I can't. What is wrong with me? But I guess it's useless to stand out here in the cold thinking about it; I won't find any answers here. As soon as I step foot inside my home, I realize that I am home alone. My parents' shoes and coats are missing, and I still haven't heard Mizuho shout at me which can only mean that she is out too. Doesn't she know it's school in the morning? That is not my problem, though. I guess this way I have the last few hours before bed-time all to myself, then. I could play video-games long into the night if I felt like it, or I could watch a movie without anyone complaining about me being noisy. Freedom!

But... I don't get very far, as I seem to have rooted just inside the door. What if I have screwed up my chance of having a great friendship with Jaegerjaquez? That thought leaves a big hole in my chest. Why do I always have to mess everything up! I feel so worthless, like such an idiot - I totally deserve being deserted by Jaegerjaquez after this. But... I don't want to be alone.

I don't know how long I stood there, but it felt like it had been weeks before I was startled by a knock on the front door, which I was currently leaning on. It was tempting to just ignore it and pretend that I wasn't home, but then curiosity took control. Who could it be, visiting us at this hour? Forcing myself to move, I opened the door and... deja vú - there stood Jaegerjaquez, leaning his arm against the wall beside the door, slightly bent over so that his face was almost in the same height as mine, looking at me with a crooked smile.

"J-Jaegerjaquez?" Am I seeing things? "Wh-Why are you here? Didn't you drive off earlier?"

"Yeah, I got as far as the stop-sign down the road," he sheepishly admitted. "Then I remembered something."

"Oh?" Why am I trembling? Is it because he returned? Because he hasn't told me we're through yet? Or is it because of the cold wind outside? Yes, it's definitely the wind.

"Yeah. I forgot to give you something."

"Hm? Give me something?" What is he talking about? Did I forget something in the car?

"Yeah." Before I had a chance to react, his free arm reached in, grabbed me and pulled me into a slightly awkward embrace. At first I wasn't sure if I should freak out and shout at him, or if I should be happy that he still ended up on my doorstep even after all that had happened this day, but I was certain about one thing - it was _definitely not_ butterflies I was feeling in my stomach. "G'night, pup."

"G-Goodnight."

* * *

**A/N:**

Review and you shall make me one happy person ^^

Both good and bad comments are welcome - I am looking to improve and please my readers.

I know that I'm lazy with updates, but I truly am doing my best.

_**Namantos**_


	16. Chapter 16

こんにちは・今日は

Konnichiwa!

Here comes the next update, hopefully followed shortly by another update, but I must warn you that I am not only in the middle of Christmas-rush (like everyone else is or soon will be) but I am also studying for an exam I will have frst week in January, which is why I have put my writing aside for the time being, writing only as I go to bed or when my head is full of information that needs processing.

But I've managed to piece this chapter together for you, and I hope it will please you, or at least keep you interested to keep on reading.

A huge thank you for everyone who loyally reads and reviews - you are much appreciated!

* * *

Chapter 16

_Revelations_

I thought I could forget about what I saw yesterday, but I just can't. I even dreamt about it! It was even worse than when I dreamt that I was abducted by aliens, and they turned me into a girl with three feet, no arms, two heads and three breasts - it was horrible! Well, _this_ dream was worse. It played out like a movie, continuously repeating the same scene over and over, and each time it replayed I felt my heart breaking. It just got worse for every time, and by the time I woke up I was drenched in sweat and clutching my chest - the pain was _real_. It feels as if someone is twisting and bending a pole stabbed straight through my heart (not that I know for sure that this is how that would feel, but it's what I imagine it would be like). It can hardly be healthy to wake up with this pain... And it's definitely not healthy to dream about your friend like that! I mean, of course it was a shock! But that doesn't mean I have to dream about it, does it? Oh, I can't take another night of this! After Jaegerjaquez left last night, my mind drifted back to our conversation about his sexual orientation, and that's why I remembered the girly guy with the lip-gloss (I've forgotten his name). Jaegerjaquez told me he is asexual, but I can't help to think what a waste it is - a guy like him feel no sexual attraction? I'm certain that every girl that looks his way wants to jump him, aswell as the gay men out there - and because of his asexuality, no one will have him. Or at least, if I understand the term correctly, _he_ won't get much out of a relation with anyone. Yes, it's definitely a waste that he can't use his looks and animalistic charm to pull anyone he wants into his bedroom. Not that I've really given this much thought! I mean, what do _I _know - I'm 18 and still a virgin! I'm just having a difficult time imagining how it must be like to never feel sexually attracted to anyone. Or maybe I am too desperate to look at this clearly. Anyway, I feel quite beaten after watching "Lip-Gloss" snog Jaegerjaquez for six hours straight.

When I got up this morning, I found out that my parents were off on another business-trip and wouldn't be back for a week or two; which means they might miss Christmas. It doesn't really matter, it's not like it's all that special anyway. Mizuho will most likely be at some party, or be out on a date, which leaves me to sit at home, playing my video-games. Well, it's not decided yet, so I don't need to think about it. What I need to think about is why I dreamt that dream. The feeling I'm left with is not that of disgust, it's more... complicated. You see, at one point (just before I woke up, actually) the "Lip-Gloss" guy morphed into someone else (quite a scary morphing too, I might add) and that someone was... me. Now, why would I be dreaming that I snog the life out of my friend? I mean, I didn't kill him! Well, I'm not sure if I did, because the dream didn't get that far, honestly! I mean, I just jumped him, and then I woke up all sweaty and confused, and... utterly overwhelmed. Is that normal? I... don't think I should be telling Jaegerjaquez about the dream.

Well, school managed to take my mind off of the dream, mostly because Mizuiro actually said "hello" to me, and he didn't use my surname either. I wonder why, though, and it's probably better for me to ponder at this instead of the dream. Could it be that Mizuiro finally realized what a great friend I am? Did he finally realize how much he needs my friendship? Or maybe... Bah, who am I kidding. I shouldn't be thinking this much at all, shouldn't dig too deep into the complicated mysteries of the world (indeed, friendship, love and emotions are three of the world's mysteries, if you ask me). Fear is natural, a necessity to preserve your own well-being - but love and friendship is something one can't explain. No one can fully explain w_hy_ they fell in love with that person, or why he or she is his or her friend; it is questions meant to remain unanswered. Surely you can say that _"we are friends because we have similar interests"_, but that is only half the reason, otherwise you could have thousands of other friends and not that particular one. And you can tell your girlfriend that she has lovely eyes and that's the reason you noticed her, but you can see millions of eyes every day and think that half of them are lovely - still, it was that one pair that caught your attention. So, what I'm trying to say is that some questions should remain a mystery. Such as why I was dreaming that dream...

As I was pondering this during my math-class, there was a sudden vibration in my left pocket. Seeing as I was not prepared for it _and_ lost in thoughts, my knee jerked dramatically and hit the bottom of my desk with such force that I successfully got everyone to jump about a foot on their chairs, including the teacher, whom screamed and threw her whiteboard-pen in the air (it went straight for Ichigo's head and then landed on the floor next to Rukia's desk). Well, with everyone glaring daggers at me (how the hell did they know it was me?) I really wanted to shrink through the floor and hide for the rest of the day. I couldn't check my text-message for another twenty minutes, though, because my teacher was keeping a close eye on me throughout the rest of the class - she really is a dragon, I even I saw fumes coming out of her nostrils after her eardrum-killing pre-school girl-scream! I bet she was really embarrassed about that - I would've been! Anyway, the moment class was over and I got out of the classroom, I grabbed my cell-phone to read the message not so surprisingly from Jaegerjaquez.

**::::::::::::::**

_**Yo, pup, whazup?**_

_**Oi, listen... You busy today?**_

_**Szayel wanted to celebrate getting that contract today,**_

_**and you are invited since you were the one who saved him.**_

_**So how about we pick you up at your school after you finish?**_

_**/Grimmjow**_

**::::::::::::::**

Wow, it makes me so happy that I could help Szayel and that they actually invite me out - what I mean is that it's not only Jaegerjaquez who wants me along, and it feels great, even if it only is to thank me; no one else has ever bothered to thank me for anything. That's what friends do, right? They show their appreciation without it being something they _have to_ do - spontaneous, genuine appreciation, that's all there is to it. And as long as they don't tire of me, I will take every opportunity I can to hang out with them.

**::::::::::::::**

_**Alright! I get off at 15:30.**_

_**Don't you have classes today?**_

_**By the way, I think you gave my entire class a heart-attack**_

_**(and you made **__**me**__** their stab-with-your-eyes-victim)**_

**::::::::::::::**

Since my parents aren't home, it won't matter if I come home later than usual. It's not like Mizuho can say anything, she's rarely home anyway. I wonder if she's got a new boyfriend again... Poor sod, he has no idea what he is getting himself into. The day she gets married is the day her husband resigned from being the man of the house - she may make a good wife, but she will never tolerate being disobeyed. Ah, but I don't want to think about my sister now!

**::::::::::::::**

_**We'll be there.**_

_**Hn, I'm actually in school right now, myself - was decided some time back.**_

_**Boring as hell, though! Got an exam on Thursday, so I need to study.**_

_**By the way, we'll pick you up in Ilforte's car, coz it's the biggest.**_

_**It's a metallic brown Chrysler Grand Voyager (hope you know**_

_**what they look like).**_

_**/Grimmjow**_

**::::::::::::::**

"Keigo!" someone shouted at me - I almost dropped my phone! - and when I looked up I was attacked by strong arms, embracing me in a far from gentle hug (nearly squeezed the life out of me!).

"Ch-Chi-Chizuru?" What's wrong with her? Why is she hugging me? And why is she doing it in the middle of the hallway where everyone can see?

"I am so happy, Keigo!" she announced, still clutching her arms around me. However, then she abruptly let go of me, and I fell to the floor now that I didn't have anything holding me up. God, that woman is strong! And normally, she is very scary too, but today... Today she is plain creepy. She is _smiling_ - not in the perverted kind of way, but in the genuinely 'I'm-feeling-great' kind of way. "Since you were there that day, you will be the first to know!" Know what? What is she talking about? It's best if I stay down here on the floor... "I am now officially in a relationship!"

"R-Re-Relationship?" Excuse me for dropping my chin, but I never expected to be told something like this. "With who?" Surely not with Orihime! Wait... didn't I meet Chizuru when she was going on a date with someone? A~ah, I can't remember what she said!

"Mhmm! Yadōmaru Lisa," she says dreamily. "I can't imagine life without her... my queen."

As she goes on about how wonderful this Lisa is, I can't help but feel like a terrible person, reminded once more of how I reacted when I thought that Jaegerjaquez was... well, _gay_. How could I have been so mean? It never bothered me that Chizuru is a lesbian, so why should it matter if my male friend is gay? And after the dream I had... _No_, I won't go there! I really owe Jaegerjaquez an apology, even though he isn't gay. Because in a way, I treated him the way everyone at school has been treating me, and that makes me sick of myself. Honestly, if that is the way I repay someone for literally saving my life, then I am not worthy of such kindness.

"-vely, and she is the best kisser! I swear! Then she makes the best cupcakes ever! And she-"

"Chizuru..." She silenced and looks at me questioningly, obviously wondering why I interrupted her rant about her girlfriend. But there is something I need to ask her. "If... If you had a good friend, and you both really enjoyed each others company, and as soon as you tell her you are a lesbian she takes off. How would you react?"

"You mean those guys I saw you with ditched you?"

"What?" Now it's my turn to loo confused. What does she... Oh, god! No! "No! It's not like that!" I quickly jump onto my feet and grab her shoulders - I have to make her understand! "That's not what I meant! I'm not-"

"Well," she interrupts before I even get a chance to finish my defence. "I've already been through that, and it was terrible." She appears to be in deep thoughts, searching for the words to say, so I let her take her time. "I used to have many friends, you know. But then, when I was infatuated with Orihime, I dropped most of them. No, they dropped me. Only a handful of people at this school treated me the same way all the time, and you are one of them. You never left me because I am a lesbian. Even though we aren't _friends_, I want you to know that I've appreciated you." I... didn't know. I guess I've been too busy feeling sorry for myself that I never realized someone else around me was feeling just as lonely as I do. "That's why..." Now she's the one gripping my shoulders. "That's why you can always come to me if you need to talk! Maybe my experience will make it easier for you."

"Thanks, Chizuru." Honestly, I am grateful. And I've always believed that one should listen to the one with more exper...ience - _hang on!_ She still misunderstood! "Chizuru, I'm no-!"

"That guy," she once more interrupted, smiling secretively at me, as if she knew something I didn't and that she loved the fact that she _knew_ this. "The one with the blue hair... He's the one you are talking about?" How did she know? "Don't worry!" She winked at me. "I'm sure he will come to terms with it sooner or later. In fact... I know he will." While I was just standing there dumbfounded and immobile, she began skipping down the hallway. "Good luck, Keigo!"

...I am so screwed.

**XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX**

Time flew by without me noticing it, because I'm already walking through the gates of the school, to where my bike is parked. I wonder what I am supposed to do with it; leave it? But then I have to take the buss in the morning. I really hate taking the buss - it takes longer than it does on a bike, and I always end up standing on the buss and tumble back and forth with the twist and turns - it's just really embarrassing. Well, as I get closer, I spot a familiar face by my bike - Jaegerjaquez. Huh? Why is he standing there? And... why does he look so smug? Granted, he almost always has a grin on his face, but this smugness has to have a reason. Perhaps I should turn and run before it's too late - I can hide inside the school, he will never find me there! Hah, as if I would make it two yards with a predatory panther behind me! There is no escape.

"Yo, mate," he greets when I am close enough to hear him. "Your damn lock on this bike is nearly impossible to unlock without the key." Hm? Well, obviously. Wait... did he? "Didn' wanna ruin it, so I quit tryin' to get it open."

"Oh my god!" He can pick locks? Is he a thief?

"Then Nnoitra gave me a hand." He raised the hand he had held behind his back earlier, and my eyes zoomed in on the chain in his hand - my safety-chain! I knew he was smug for a reason! "Were gonna put your bike in the car before ya came out, but wasn't enough time."

You know what's funny? Other students were gathering in small groups here and there, just looking at us, most of them probably too scared to walk up and take their bikes - of course, it's not every day an older male hangs around our bikes for no apparent reason. Jaegerjaquez was obviously pleased with the attention he was given, but I can't say the same for myself - I know what it must look like: the geek getting harassed on school-property by unknown older male.

"Oi, let's get going. We'll drop it off at your place 'fore we head out." He began leading my bike towards the parking-lot, with me trailing slowly behind him. This will give the other students something to talk about for weeks now. My thoughts are abruptly stopped when an arm lazily lands on my shoulders. "Whazup?" It's Jaegerjaquez, holding my bike with his left arm while walking next to me and almost leaning on me with his right arm. "You seem down?"

"No, I just..." Damn, I should be apologizing to him, not making a scene! Why can't I just try to be happy for once!

"Hey, Keigo!" a female voice shouts, and as I look up I spot Chizuru waiving her hand at me, about to step inside a car. "See you tomorrow!" She winks at me before she disappears inside the car. Oh god, of course she had to jump to conclusions without first receiving proper facts!

"Hm? Who was she?"

"Eh? Oh, that was Chizuru from my class." I wonder why he always sounds so... jealous. "Remember, the girl in the park?"

"Oh, right."

"Mm. She told me today that she is in a relationship with the woman from the date that day."

"She... She's a lesbian?" Jaegerjaquez stopped walking, apparently shocked. "I thought... Well, I thought maybe you and her..."

"Oh my god, no!" Whoa, that would be a nightmare! ...Dreams? Ugh, that reminds me. "A-anyway, we shouldn't keep the others waiting, r-right?"

"Huh? Oh, you're right."

Yeah, being reminded of the dream I had last night, while in the company of the subject of my dreams, obviously does weird things to my body. My heart is running a marathon, and this really strange feeling settled in my stomach. Oh, and I'm shaking. It's quite embarrassing, actually, but it doesn't seem like Jaegerjaquez has noticed even though he still hasn't let go of me. I don't mind, it's just the eyes directed at us I'm worried about.

**XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX**

"See ya t'morrow, Red!"

"Yeah!" There is no time to give a proper goodbye - he is already late as it is! Rushing out into the hallway, nearly tumbling over Kira as he did so, Renji dashed forward, successfully tripping over Hinamori's small feet and sliding (on his belly) a few feet, dirtying the formerly plain white school-uniform shirt; but who cares about such details when one is late for an after-school job!

"I apologize, Abarai-san!" Hinamori began, but Renji was already on his feet again, running down the hallway, deaf to any kind of apology.

Truth be told, his after-school job was not that far from school, but he was still ten minutes late due to his teacher lecturing him about turning in his essay two days later than assigned. It's not his fault the teachers doesn't give him enough time to finish them! He could tell them a thing or two about organizing the assignments better, but no one ever listens to him; everyone always assume that he is too stupid to understand such complex things. Well, he could teach _them_ a thing or two aswell! But no matter how much he can teach just about anyone, it doesn't change the fact that _he is late!_ That is why, when his feet suddenly doesn't have ground beneath them, that he takes a dive down a flight of stairs and lands on all four after knocking someone over halfway down the stairs. That was quite a painful dive...

"Renji?" a stunned and scolding voice sounds from beneath him, and an uncontrollable shiver runs down his spine. Large dark blue eyes stares up at him as if they could not believe what they were facing. "What on earth..."

"R-Rukia..." Just typical. Of course he had to fall right on top of her; not to mention knocking her to the ground. "I, eh..." But before he had a chance to finish that sentence, he is reminded of the cause to all of this. "I'm late!" Panic wins over the pain of falling and knocking down his ex girlfriend, and he is instantly up and running again. "Shit, Urahara-san is _so_ going to kill me!"

He barely even registered running out of the building, through the gates and almost knocking over someone with strange blue hair and... was that Keigo? Whoever it was, Renji has no time to spare. If he hurry, he might make it there in ten minutes. He has to make it! Because he does not want to be beaten by that stupid _gunsen _again... it freakin' hurts!

**XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX**

An angry Grimmjow must be horrible, because an annoyed Grimmjow is enough to make me want to bite my fingernails. The things he mumble to himself... I'm kind of glad that I don't understand what he is saying, because it sounds really awful; I bet it's words one wouldn't say in front of your mother - you know, the really _bad _things. It's a good thing Renji runs fast, otherwise he would have been pummeled by now. Hm, but Renji is a fighter... Perhaps he would have pummeled Jaegerjaquez. Oh my god, I wonder who would have won! Not that I want to find out, absolutely not! But Jaegerjaquez seems really strong, and so does Renji. In fact, I _know _that Renji is strong - Jaegerjaquez hasn't really shown me how strong he is, because he always takes it easy with me when we play-fight. Gah, it's so childish, but I love it! However, if this is the way he treats humans when he is upset, then I'm glad I'm not fmailiar with it yet; an d I'm grateful that I'm not a bike! He just stomped up to a _huge_ car and opened the back, revealing a 6-seat car - I have never seen a car this huge before! - and shoved the bike inside next to a double seat in the back-row, nearly crushing Nnoitra's legs with the front wheel of my poor and abused bike. I feared the Grinch might take his anger out on my bike, but he only snapped a very rude word in Jaegerjaquez' face instead, holding onto the bike so that the blue-haired angry male could climb inside and take a seat on the double-seat. I guessed that I was meant to follow, but it took some encouragement from Tesla (whom was sitting next to Nnoitra, in front of Jaegerjaquez and behind the driver's seat) before I managed to move inside. Apparently I'm supposed to sit next to Jaegerjaquez on the small double-seat; I hesitate, though. Not that either of us takes much space, but is it really safe when he's angry?

"Hello, Kei-kun," Szayel greets, looking back at us from his passenger-seat in the front next to his brother. "I am very pleased that you could show up today - without you, I wouldn't have been promoted."

"Uhm... Thanks? You're welcome?" I'm not sure what to say, actually.

"Well, come on, hurry inside so we can celebrate!"

Not left with much choice, then. Jumping inside with care and slowly taking the seat next to Jaegerjaquez I feel like I did the first day I met all of these guys - like a prey willingly going inside the predator's cave. I must be stupid. I wonder why he's so upset, it's not like he actually fell when Renji ran into him, he just stumbled. He didn't drop anything, and he didn't embarrass himself. So... why?

"Stop bein' such a fuckin' plug in the bottle!" Nnoitra hissed, glaring at Jaegerjaquez. "Ya can't be _'cool'_ all the freakin' time, dude!" Cool? Jaegerjaquez wanted to be cool?

"Shut up, spoon-head!" Jaegerjaquez nearly pranced from his seat, but this is the moment Ilforte decided to kick-start the car (if that is even possible to do) which caused all of us to lurch. I, typically enough, tumbled into Jaegerjaquez' side, accidentally elbowing him in the abdomen - I know, I'm always the 'lucky' one - and ended up almost lying across his lap. Why hadn't I fastened my seat-belt? "Ouch!" Jaegerjaquez complained, rubbing his sore abdomen, but the previous anger appeared to have vanished. Instead he's glancing down at me quite pleased with the outcome. "Oi, pup..." He ruffled my hair, just like he always does. "Ya might wanna crawl up closer, coz there's only one working seat-belt back here." _Gulp_. Well I'm _definitely not_ riding a car without a seat-belt - especially not if Ilforte drives anything like Jaegerjaquez does.

As we got seated properly, I ended up sitting half atop of his lap anyway, with my legs over his leg and he held his arm loosely over my shoulders. My chest was somewhat pressed onto his side due to the seat-belt pulling me closer to him, and oh my god it must look so weird! But at least I feel safe - if we crash, at least I'll die in the arms of a good friend. I can't figure out what Nnoitra finds so funny, though, and I dare not ask - whatever it is, I bet I don't want to know. At least Jaegerjaquez is pleased about something, judging by the grin he carries so proudly; I suppose I don't want to know his reason either. For some reason, I always end up with the short end of the stick... and I almost never know what's going on.

**XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX**

I think we gave my sister a stroke when we stopped by our apartment to drop off my bike. You see, I wanted to get changed into something more casual instead of walking around in my school-uniform, and they all decided to join me inside. She was in the midst of shouting at me for not cleaning the floor properly when Jaegerjaquez peeked his head inside, making her frown because she had been interrupted. Then her eyes kept growing in size for each person that stepped into the hallway, and when Tesla closed the door as the last man in, her chin was nearly touching the floor. Don't misunderstand her expression - she does look kind of like when she first saw Ikkaku, but she is less lovey-dovey this time. In fact, if she wasn't as surprised as she was, I think she would have thrown them outside again. As it was, she was in no state to do anything but stand there, gawking like a fool.

I took this as my chance to sneak away, and apparently the others decided to follow suit, tip-toeing past her and into my room. It was more than crowded, to say the least, but despite that they all found a spot somewhere to give me room to change - however, having five set of eyes looking at you while you change isn't my cup of tea. Szayel had taken a seat on my computer-chair, looking at me from behind his pink hair, not at all trying to hide the fact that he wanted to creep me out, and Ilforte sat down on top of my desk, doing more or less the same as his brother, though somewhat less obvious. Nnoitra flopped down on top of my bed just like last time he was here, but kept his visible eye glued to me, a teeth-showing grin furnishing his face. Jaegerjaquez was at least being a little more polite, taking a look at my games on the lower half of the bookshelf, but he was standing way too close to me and my wardrobe to really give me much space. The only one actually considering my feelings was Tesla, whom stood by my window and kept his eyes on something outside. Why couldn't all of them be like him? Sure, I could grab some clothes and go into the washing-room to change, but then I'd have to face my sister again, and I'd rather face he devil than her. Guess I have no choice then. If I just pretend this is like the changing-room in school, I shouldn't be bothered, right? But... there _everyone_ are equally undressed, and here is't just _me_. It _is_ embarrassing!

"Your sister is kind of scary, bro. I don't really see any resemblance," Ilforte pointed out, looking me over as if I was a painting under scrutiny.

"I second that," Nnoitra mumbled. "Our lil' puppy has a witch for a sister."

Granted, having them talking took off some of my embarrassment, and I could at least take off my jacket and started unbuttoning the shirt. Nnoitra and Ilforte kept discussing my sister, but they still looked at me while doing it - even though I turned my back on them I still felt their eyes on me. It's not that I'm embarrassed about how I look, coz I look just like all of them beneath the layers of clothes (apart from being less fit), but I don't like being looked at. But I stayed brave and finally got the shirt completely unbuttoned and took it off, my skin turning cold and prickly; you know, goose-bumps. I accidentally look to my left and down at Jaegerjaquez, only to realize that his eyes was turned towards me too. Gah, I can _feel_ the blush!

"Oi, look, the puppy's got a collar," Nnoitra laughed. Shit, I didn't take off my tie! Ah, I so set myself up for that... But looking on the bright side, everyone laughed, and it made me feel a bit more at ease knowing they weren't really laughing at _me_ but at the tie around my neck. I think... Taking it off and throwing it at Nnoitra with a pout on my lips, I throw on a t-shirt I blindly grabbed from the wardrobe - no more gawking at my naked torso! "Ooh, look at that, I've got a new eye-patch." When I turn around to see what Nnotira was talking about, I cannot hold it in any longer - I am practically rolling on the floor, laughing my ass off. He has taken my tie and put it across his face, down above his left eye that is always hidden either behind his hair or an eye-patch - and he looks hilarious! "Oi, I'll borrow this today, it'll start a new trend."

We had a good laugh there, and stayed inside my room for a little while longer, just hanging out like normal people does, never once did I feel uncomfortable. Not even when I changed into a pair of jeans, because everyone was busy talking about Nnoitra's new look with my tie around his head. Actually, I think I feel a little pride in the fact that he even took it on, and even more so that he wants to wear it today. Though I don't know why I feel that way, because it's no big deal. Listening while Jaegerjaquez and the two brothers were discussing Nnoitra's fashion-choice, I walked over to where Tesla was standing by my window, because I had thrown my shirt over there the other day when I got home. When I bent down to ipck it up, I noted that he still hadn't moved from his position facing the window, and I wondered what was so fascinating outside. On my way up to a standing position, I noted his eyes moved to look at me. Huh?

"I feel I have to inform you," he began, making me feel slightly uncomfortable. "Those underwear you have on today..." W-what? "They sit like a second skin on you. It's very nice."

"W-w-what?"

**XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX**

I was shocked when Tesla came clean about having been watching me through the window, which had mirrored me before his eyes - I really thought he wasn't as perverted or gayish as the rest of them. And that's when it really struck me that my new friends all show some tendencies towards batting for the wrong team. What a fool I have been... Even so, what am I afraid of? It's not like they are going to rape me - if they were, they would have done so by now (they sure have had a lot of chances to do it). Well, after my shocking discovery of Tesla being a perve, we all drove down to the Mall to eat at that barbecue restaurant we ate at the first day I met them. Mmm, it tasted just as delicious this time as it had back then! Need I mention that I needn't bring any money for this? This time it was Szayel who insisted to pay for me, as a thank you - I think he forgot that I took the shooting as a thank you to him, he shouldn't be thanking me right now. Also, true to his word, Nnoitra wore my tie as an eye-patch all day, even in the restaurant, completely ignoring the looks he received. Why does he have that eye-patch anyway? I've never seen the eye he's hiding behind it... I'll have to be sneaky and find out about that, but it'll have to be another day.

"Do you have any homework to do, Kei-kun?" I shake my head to Szayel's question, but honestly I am lying when I say that I don't have any homework. But, I've managed several times to not do my homework, I doubt it'll have any mortal effect on me if I skip this time aswell. "Then, would you accompany us for a walk in the area? Or perhaps we could go back to your place and hang for a bit?"

"Uhm, both is fine with me!" Really, I don't mind being out and moving about, and I have nothing against having my friends over at my apartment; especially not if it keeps my sister away from me. "We could do both!"

"Okay, let's get going!" Jaegerjaquez urged, starting to clear out, followed closely by Ilforte and Nnoitra. Szayel went to pay for us all by the counter, and I was left to walk alongside Tesla, whom I haven't had much to do with until today. "Come on, don't drag your feet!" we heard the blue-haired male shout at us, disturbing several other customers in the process.

I realize that I've been comparing Tesla with Sado, as the silent bystander, defending his friends through any situation. But I also realize that I don't know Tesla enough to come to that conclusion. Of all of these guys, he is probably the most normal one, and the one I probably should get along with the best, but he's always in the company of Nnoitra and therefor ends up as the bystander. Except for now, when we silently walk side by side. Now is my chance to get to know him, only... I don't know what to say. He doesn't appear to be the most open type, more withdrawn than for example Jaegerjaquez, not as self-loving as the brothers, and less scary than Nnoitra, but still carrying an atmosphere of being difficult to reach. He reminds me somewhat of my dad, with that cold attitude yet warm smile - my father can be warm at times, when I do what he asks. However, this revelation also adds to my unease - how do I deal with this person?

"I did not mean to offend you earlier," Tesla suddenly admits, breaking the uncomfortable silence and saving me from my musings. "The comment about your underwear," he clarifies, thinking I might not know what he meant.

"Oh, of course not! I know that!" But I did have my doubts. "It was a good joke, really!"

"Joke?" He sounded honestly confused, and he is glancing at me from the corner of his eye as we keep walking towards the exit - I swear, if I stop and really consider his words, I will faint. "It was no joke, I was being sincere."

"Eh, uhm..." Cold sweat drips from my forehead as my gay-radar activates. Damnit, why am I surrounded by gays all of a sudden! "Heheh, uhm, maybe we should hurry before they come pulling us out of here..."

"You do not believe me?" Can't he just drop it? "Trust me, you do have a ni-"

"Gyah! Please, let's just hurry! Come on!" Yep, I did what most guys would have done in that situation - I ran. Straight for the door. I was nearly there, too, when the door opened right before me and _bang_, I ran straight into a chest. _Jaegerjaquez'_ chest. Thank god it's not Nnoitra! "Oh thank god!"

"Huh? What's wrong with ya?" Jaegerjaquez grip my shoulders and force eye-contact, clearly worried. "You look kinda pale. Is everything alright?"

"Yes!" I pant, trying to free myself from his strong grip: unsuccessfully. "I'm fine! Shall we go?" Please, let me get out of here before-

"I don't know what came into him."

"Aaah!" Tesla arrived! It's all over now!

"Whatever it is, we have to leave before we're barred from this restaurant for good." Jaegerjaquez pulled me outside, joining up with Nnoitra and Ilforte, whom both looked at me as if I was insane. Why? It's not _me _making gay comments in the midst of a restaurant! Nor in my _bedroom! _Jaegerjaquez still hasn't let go of me, as if he's afraid I might take off - and he's right. As long as Tesla is standing next to me, looking at me (possibly checking out my ass!) I will be prepared to run as long and as far as it takes to lose him!

**XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX**

On his way home from Rukia's, Ichigo passed the Mall to buy something to drink. A juice, perhaps. Well, whatever he could afford, really. He didn't have many coins left in his pocket, having spend most of it on ice-cream for himself and his girlfriend earlier that day. Maybe he should begin to consider buying less candy... It's not for himself, most of the times, but for Rukia, and she has enough money to buy a candy-store if she wanted to. So why should he be the one paying for her sweet-tooth? Perhaps he shouldn't have fallen for a demanding girl like she is in the first place, that would've saved him a lot of headache. But done is done - one digs his own grave, as it is said. Or is it 'makes his own bed'? Mah, who cares which it is.

Looking up, he spots a familiar face and sighs out loudly. Lately school has been so peaceful since that Keigo has stopped harassing everyone, but when Ichigo meets him face to face like this he can't just ignore him. Preparing for his usual greeting - which means hearing his name being screamed - he already raised his arm in 90 degrees, pretending to greet the brunette with a high five but actually aiming for the shorter male to walk straight into his muscled arm, It's not that he tries to hurt the guy on purpose, it's just the way they always greeted - it's routine. He closed his eyes nonchalantly and breathed in.

"Yo, Ke- Huh?" He opens his eyes just in time to see Keigo dodging his elbow thanks to a hand putting pressure on the brunette head. The hand leads up to a weird-looking male with... blue hair, whom is glaring at Ichigo. "What the..."

"Hm? Oh, hi, Ichigo." Brown/green eyes meet Ichigo's confused eyes. "Did you want something?"

"Huh?" Is that really the same Keigo Ichigo went to school with? The coward whom would be offended if one didn't greet him or treat him the same way every day? "Eh, no. Just... Hello."

"Oh. Well, hello."

Ichigo confusedly watched Keigo leave with the strange blue-haired male, noting that they were in the company of four other guys, none of which Ichigo recognized. Well, that was a strange encounter. Shrugging it off, deciding that Keigo knew what he was doing, Ichigo continued on his quest to find something cheap to drink. Damnit, but he's tired of drinking water and juice...

Hang on... Did that tall freaky guy wear one of their school-uniform ties across his face?

**XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX**

That felt... extremely cool! Wow, I just managed to wipe off the constant frown on Ichigo's face and replace it with such a confused look! I should receive a medal for this! Asano Keigo, you are the man! Thanks to my new friends, I feel like I have stepped up from being the wimp in middle school, to this cool guy in his last year of high school! I could climb Fuji-mountain without loosing my breath if I keep feeling like this! I even forgot about Tesla walking behind me, possibly checking out my... Gah, better not go there!

"Oi, what're you smirking about?" I cannot wipe the smile from my face even as I look up to meet Jaegerjaquez blue eyes. I am so happy to have him walking so closely to me, feeling his arm brush against mine, even though both our arms are covered in at least two layers of clothes to keep out the cold. Eh, I mean... Whatever I meant, I didn't mean it to sound so gay. But what does it matter, they're all my friends and I'm finally being noticed - what more could I ask for? Nothing! "You look like you've won the lottery."

"I think I have."

**

* * *

****A/N:**

Thank you for reading!

Now... _**REVIEW!**_

There is no other way for me to know if you are pleased or not, so review and tell me what you think, what you're missing, what you are displeased with e.t.c.

I appreciate all of my readers, your comments are worth gold.

/Namantos


	17. Chapter 17

**Hello!**

Here comes the long-awaited party that Shiro and Renji organized. It took longer to write than I expected, but here it is anyway.

In case I haven't written another chapter before Christmas - **Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! :D** I hope you have purchased Christmas-gifts and that you all receive what you've wished for!

Date/Day of this chapter is Friday 19th December - no need to comment that this year's 19th of Dec. is a Sunday, coz this story does not follow present time ^^ You can either imagine that this story is Year 2008 or 2014, whichever is fine by me ;)

Now, read and enjoy!

Chapter 17 - the Christmas Party

**

* * *

****The Christmas Party**

_**Friday, 19 Dec. **_

Nicely curved, probably firm to the touch, tight in just the right places... swaying subtly but not quite enough. _'Sigh...' _Next victim! Round and most likely soft, dramatically wobbling and- _'Ugh, when did girls get so large buttocks, or were they always like that?' _It's not my fault that those skirts makes their ass look bigger and more... swelling! I can't help it, but I find it a lot more attractive with tight pants that show off narrow hips and gently rubs into the cleft... Since when did I become so obsessed with butts instead of boobs? I thought I drooled over fully developed female bodies. Heh, then i went and got steady with Ririn (probably the most flat-chested female on campus!) - I am such a hypocrite. But come on! Even Noba's got a greater body than she has! _And_ she's a bitch. Maybe I should take this as a sign... Eh, no! No way! I won't even go there.

"Yo, Plush-bro!"

... Don't you just hate lame nicknames and evil brothers disturbing your moment of secret perversion? It doesn't help my reputation when half of the female population of my class giggles at my nickname and jokes about it behind my back. Now, if looks could kill then he would be dead ten times over right about now; I would've wiped that grin off his face if given the chance. Seriously, how can anyone mistake me for that bastard? He's a maniac and his psychotic grin and yellowish eyes does not disguise his personality in the least. Just like the other one/third of our trio constantly wears that tiresome frown - he is too stuck-up. How can anyone mistake them with my perfectly handsome face? I'm insulted. Really, I am!

"Come on, doofus, whatcha waitin' for?" Why does my classroom have to be next to his? "We've got a party to attend, man!"

"Correction: _you_ have a party to attend to." This is the moment Ririn's redheaded friend chooses to walk passed my line of vision - I swear, that shy guy is like a magnet (pure eye-candy!); no wonder his cheeks are always tinted red, I bet he has developed a sixth sense for when he's being looked at. My eyes goes into pervert-mode without my consent, and they linger way too long on his rear for my own safety. I only realized my mistake when I hear a barking laughter from the doorway, and as I snap my eyes back to my much annoying brother, I realize that I am in a shit-load of trouble.

"Man! I just can't pretend I didn't see that!" Yes... I should be worried. "Leftie!"

"Shut up, you freak!" Does he have to be so loud?

"As if I could!"

What do you think happens next? The bastard takes off running down the hallway, laughing his maniacal horse-laugh - I hold no doubt what-so-ever in my mind about what his intentions are. Shit... By the end of this day, everyone's gonna think I'm a flamin' queer! I gotta stop him! I gotta hunt him down and cut off his tongue so that he can't ever utter a word about this. Then I have to chop his hands off aswell, so that he can't write it down... Hrm, I might aswell just dump him in the river when I'm at it. I wonder if I can find a rope anywhere on school...

**X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X**

"I made myself a liar, Nnoi." He clenched his fist tight and slammed it into the wall so hard that it hurt. "I've never been ashamed of myself until now! Why did I lie?"

_"Just tell 'im the truth, then."_

"I can't do that now! Dip-shit, I _lied _to him! He's gonna hate me..."

_"Ya won't be lyin' if ya tell 'im the truth, though."_

"The damage is already done." Slamming his fist into the wall once more, breaking the skin and tainting the wall with red, Grimmjow bit down hard on his lip and tasted the same liquid that he was looking at on his knuckles. Resting his forehead against the wall, sighing, he was careful not to take out his anger on the phone clutched in his unharmed hand. "I am such an idiot..."

_"Sigh..." _The male on the other end of the line made a noise that clearly stated he hated to be put in this situation. _"Ya've got two options 'ere. One: unless ya're plannin' on dumping his friendship within the next year or so, your lie is gonna go down the pipes the moment ya fall in love again - 'less ya're plannin' on livin' in celibacy. Two: tell 'im the truth. It won't kill 'im. But it'll hurt if ya keep it a secret from 'im."_

Grimmjow knew that Nnoitra was right. But that didn't change the fact that he had already lied. How could he ever be forgiven? Especially since...

"What would you have me do?"

_"Go tell 'im."_

"I can't do that now, he's got that party tonight."

_"Even better to get over there an' tell 'him. Now he's got so much on his mind he might not fully take it in until he's molded it over."_

"Yeah, or I might ruin his party." Excuses for everything; it was beginning to become a habit these days. Covering-up lies... Tip-toeing around the truth... Disregarding the burning emotions. He beat his knuckles once more against the wall for good measure, praying that the pain would numb his mind for a few moments. "What would you have done?"

_"Ya know what I'd've done. Don' pretend ya don' remember."_

"Hn, and look how _that _turned out."

_"It was the right decision to come clean. At least now we know where we stand. And he's never acted differently with me. More at ease, maybe, for knowing the truth. An' I won't go 'round dreaming 'bout things that'll never come to be. You need that relief too."_

"...You still love him, though, don't you?" The silence answered that question, and it was exactly what Grimmjow feared. "I won't be able to cope with that."

_"Only time can tell, dude. Now you get yerself ready, coz ya're gonna tell 'im the truth today. Don' be a coward yer whole life."_

"...You're right. Thanks, Nnoi."

_"'s alright. Call me later."_

"I will." He has never felt this nervous all his life, but he'd be damned if he didn't go through with it.

**X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X**

Kon had lost the bastard somewhere between the lockers and the dining-hall on their second tour around the fourth floor, mostly because he had crashed into Ririn (of all people) and while she was doing her best to rob him of his once-upon-a-time perfect hearing, Shiro was getting away, laughing his ass off. He tried to find his brother before any damage to his reputation had been made, but the evil third of their trio was impossible to track. The only thing Kon could do was to go back to his classroom and get his bag and then go home - supposedly he now had to go to the party to prevent his brother from spilling any lies about him. No matter how bothersome that would be, Kon had to do his best. On his way back to his classsroom he had caught sight of a lonely person in Ichigo's homeroom and automatically stopped on his track. It was Keigo, the guy whom had been awfully lonely this year. Kon actually blamed his eldest brother for that, mostly because Ichigo is a person everyone listens to and he's often in the center of attention. Ichigo used to be friends with Keigo, and at that time everyone noticed the brunette - now that Ichigo is ignoring him, so is everyone else. It's a subtle yet none-the-less mean kind of bullying. Even though Kon never personally were friends with the guy, he knew what it's like to be lonely - ever since Ririn broke up with him, he has been lonely too, coz his friends were Ririn's friends first and they chose her. So... maybe he should pay the lonesome guy a few minutes, ask him how he's doing and such.

"Yo!" he greeted, entering the classroom, noting the slight jump in the other's posture but decided to ignore it. "Whazup? What are you doing hanging in here when school has ended? Shouldn't you be getting yourself ready for tonight?"

"Tonight?" Keigo inquired.

"Yeah." _'Doesn't he know about the party?' _Kon sat down on the chair opposite of Kon, giving him his best grin. "The party!"

"Oh, right..." The brunette wasn't as energetic as he usually were at the mention of a party. "I'm not sure if I'll go."

"Huh? Of course you have to go!" At least, if Kon played his cards right, he wouldn't be completely alone at the party if Keigo came. They could hang out, get to know each other, be less lonely together. Right? "I insist! You don't wanna leave me completely on my own, do you?"

"Eh, but..."

"No _'but'_s!" Kon got up from the chair again. "Just show up. If you really don't enjoy yourself, you can always leave."

"I suppose so." A small smile graced the brunette's features, but nowhere near what Kon remembered of Keigo.

"It's decided, then! I'll meet you around seven outside the club, 'kay. Don't be late!" He gave the brunette no time to change his mind, and bursted out of the classroom. He didn't have much time to prepare for the party, so he couldn't hang around to chat anyway. Besides, he had a brother to kill before then, too. "Damn that Shiro, when I get my hands on him..."

**X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X**

**THREE HOURS LATER**

**X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X**

_"Keigo! Someone's here to see you!"_

Really? Who could that be? I am late as it is (if I intend to go to that stupid party). Ah, I don't even know what to wear! If this keeps up, I'll just go naked.

_"Keigo!"_ Eek, she can scream!

_"'s alright, I'll find my way."_ ... Shit, it's Jaegerjaquez! What is he doing her? I'm not even properly dressed! Ah, I can hear his footsteps, he's just outside my door! _"Oi, Keigo, you in there?"_

"Uhm, y-yes! But w-wait! Don't come in, I'm just gonna-" Damn I can't find any good t-shirt! And then my door was opened when I stood there in nothing but my briefs. "Gyah!"

"Oops, I didn't mean to interrupt anything."

"Huh?" That's not the Jaegerjaquez I know. The Jaegerjaquez I know would make some quick comment that would make me blush. He wouldn't be apologizing and back out of my room like this, not even making eye-contact. Something is definitely wrong. He's been this way all week; different, stiff somehow, not the easy-going guy I've come to know. It is because of this that I forget about my previous discomfort and close the distance between myself and the door in a matter of seconds, stopping the door from closing. "What's wrong?" My voice is steady and serious; I'm proud of myself for not showing my fears through the tone of my voice.

"Nothing's wrong, I'll just wait til you're finished."

Someone else must be controlling my body, because it's moving on its own - I'd never do this on my own accord, nor do I know how I got this strong. I grabbed Jaegerjaquez wrist and pulled him into my room with such force he nearly stumbled to the floor. Making sure my door is closed, I turn to find a slumped over blunette, respectfully looking away from my mostly naked glory. I can't believe he's weak enough to be manhandled by me, so I know that something has to be bothering him. Why else would he be here right now, looking like a newly bathed kitten?

"Tell me." He flinched at my demanding voice - I don't blame him; I surprise myself just as much.

"I've got a lot on my mind, 's all." But that's not really an answer, is it. "Honestly."

"You do remember that I'm going to that party today, right?" I do want to hear what's bothering him, but I am really late already. I'll never make it in time.

"Yeah." Sigh. I guess he won't speak, then.

"I've got to get dressed," I tell him, going back to my wardrobe; however, I just can't concentrate. "If you don't tell me what's on your mind, how will I be able to help." His silence is killing me, making me feel like I've done something wrong, and his expressionless face doesn't give me any clues as to what it is. I pick out a pair of black jeans and an orange t-shirt - I can wear my green sleeveless west on top of it - and while I'm getting dressed I realize how tense Jaegerjaquez is. Why can't he simply tell me? Did he come here to take his mind off of what's bothering him? Is that what he wants me to do? "Uhm... Can I go looking like this?" His blue eyes glance my way, looking me over, and finally he gives me one of his usual smiles.

"Ya could, but you could go in just your briefs too."

"Hey!" That comment gives me a flashback from the last time I got changed in front of Jaegerjaquez and all of his friends - Tesla's comment gave me nightmares! I'll never forget it... Though, finally I got a glimpse of the usual Jaegerjaquez again.

"I'll give you a ride to the party," he suddenly offered. "You are in a hurry, right?" No trace of the tense Jaegerjaquez anymore - good. Mission success.

"Alright, thanks!"

...

In the car, everything was back to normal. Jaegerjaquez was grinning and cracking jokes like he normally does - I almost forgot the way he looked in my room earlier. He pulled over outside the club and I immediately regretted giving my promise to Kon that I would come. Three years ago I would've already been inside, having a blast, but today... I didn't want to see some of the people that would be in there. People like Ichigo, Ishida, Sado... Mizuiro. But who knows, they might not even be there. After all, Ichigo doesn't go eye-to-eye with Abarai anymore because of Rukia, and neither Sado nor Mizuiro will show up unless Ichigo does. Parties never truly attracted Ishida to begin with, so maybe I don't have anything to be scared of. Maybe it really will be fun. Just outside of the club, I spot Kon - is he waiting for me? No, of course he isn't, we're not even friends; never were, either.

"Come with me, please!" I beg my blue-haired friend, praying that he won't say no. No one at the club would care if he's there, they'd be too busy with their friends.

"No, dimwit. This is _your_ party. That guy, the orange-head, he's the one who told you to come, right? He's even waiting. Go!"

"Fine..." What's the point in arguing... "Thanks for giving me a ride."

"Hn, no problem." I was about to open the door when he grabbed my arm - that look was back on his face, and he was tense again. "Look, I... I've got to tell you something." He let go of me and stared at the steering-wheel intently. This is really making me worried! "I wanted to tell you at home, but it seemed like an inappropriate time." He's nervous... even shaking. "I've wanted to tell you this whole week, but I didn't know how. You..." He glanced at me carefully as if trying to read me. "You really hit a sore spot I never knew I had." What is he talking about? Last week? What did I-... Oh. "I was embarrassed, so I... I lied to you." Oh god, I did not see this coming! "You asked about my sexual preferences, and I told you that I'm asexual." He looked away again, still shaking. Damnit, my throat is so dry! "I _have_ been with a woman." Phew! For a moment there I thought- "And three men."

...

...

...

_**"What?"**_

"Sorry, I didn't want to tell you like this."

"B-but you..." He _is_ gay after all! He lied! _Why?_ Why would he... Why does he look so guilty, so ashamed? Damn, I haven't handled this well at all, have I? He is my _friend_, but I am stopping him from being who he is. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"You looked ready to bolt, and I didn't want you to do that." He's frowning. "And I've hated myself for lying to you."

"I'm sorry." He carefully meet my eyes. "I acted like a jerk. I guess I was just shocked by seeing that guy kiss you." I'm still a bit grossed, actually. "I put you in an awkward position." I surprise myself by reaching out my hand, offering it to him. "Friends?" Please say we're still friends!

For the longest moment he just stared at my hand; I was certain that he would turn me down. But then I jumped in my seat when he grabbed my hand, grinning like the guy I know him to be. And I feel relief. And I'm stupidly finding myself trying to determine whether or not his hand feels any different now that I know this secret about him. Of course it doesn't feel any different!

"Now _go!_" he suddenly orders me. "Before I tell you I'm madly in love with you, or something."

Gulp. I've never left a car this fast before - but despite that, I'm grinning like an idiot.

**X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X**

"About time you showed up!" Kon scolded when he saw Keigo trotting towards him. "You are..." He glanced at his arm-watch. "Ten minutes late!"

"S-sorry!"

"Ah, don't worry about it. Just don't let it happen again!" Stepping towards the entrance of the club, with Keigo in tow, Kon lead them into the building and fell into step with his make-do friend. "If you see Shiro, let me know - I've got a goose to pluck with him, and he wasn't home to change." Kon had planned to attack his brother at home, but the albino must've been at Renji's. "He is not getting away with this!"

"Uhm, getting away with what?" Keigo asked innocently and confused.

"He saw-" Kon stopped himself, slapping himself mentally before he said anything he shouldn't. "Never mind." It was safer to keep it a secret. "Come on, let's see if there is any birds in here tonight!"

"B-birds?" Keigo stopped, staring up at the ceiling - he always got pooped on when he's in the park. It wouldn't be all that fancy to have poop on your shoulder at a disco, would it.

"Idiot!" Kon smacked Keigo's arm. "Girls!"

"Oh, right!" With a goofy grin, Keigo followed the somewhat grumpy Kon into the large room, now dark and flashing with different highlights, music streaming out of loudspeakers and drowning even your thoughts. It felt as if the floor was dancing to the beat of the bass and drums. Memories of previous discos came into mind, and Keigo almost returned to his old goofy, chaotically energetic self - _almost_. It's not that he didn't appreciate Kon for telling him to come, it's just that he felt as if something was missing. Or someone. But he couldn't pin-point just what or who that was.

**X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X**

**ELSEWHERE**

**X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X**

Usually, on his nights off, he would enjoy a night at the bar, sitting down just like a regular customer and have a drink, but tonight something was slightly off. Or rather, something caught his attention. A few seats away from him by the counter sat a male in his late twenties, dressed in dark jeans and a black leather-jacket, thick, spiky black hair that was longer in the neck, and he wore an expression that practically screamed _'depressed'_. This was just the kind of person Ilforte would notice. Ilforte had kept his eyes on the male, trying to figure out what might depress him so, and the only answer he could come up with was that the guy had been stood up by his date; he drew this conclusion from the fact that he hadn't spoken to anyone at the bar. The other option had been that he was a red-case drinker, but it didn't seem like he was trying to drink himself into oblivion, but that didn't mean he wouldn't become a red-case. Not knowing irked Ilforte. He has been working as a bartender for two years, and he has heard some pretty amazing stories from customers who either trusted him or were too drunk to know what they were saying - however, Ilforte would rather put it down as one of his abilities to read people that gave him the possible insight of people's minds. Sometimes he got to hear som very sad and depressing stories, and he had a strange feeling that this was such a case - he should offer to listen to this guy's thoughts. He wasn't too bad to look at either, which is a bonus. Having decided on his next action, Ilforte shifted to sit down next to the male. He finished his drink and ordered a new one from Harribel before glancing at the male, whom hadn't even flinched.

"Can I offer a refill, bro?" he asked the blackhaired male, unsure if he was even noticed.

"Thanks," the man accepted, voice low and tired, eyes permanently set on the tabletop.

Once their glasses were filled they both drank in silence, either unsure of what to say or not interested in a conversation. Ilforte was trying to come up with a strategy on how to get the other to talk, but nothing came to mind. It was a lot easier as a bartender - stories tend to come for free whether you want them to or not - but right now he is nothing but another customer at the bar. After several unsuccessful attempts, he settled with stating the obvious; that wouldn't come off as him being too nosy.

"You seem depressed, bro." He wasn't sure if the other had heard him, but as he glanced over he found himself being observed by a pair of tired yet curious aqua-green eyes, and he couldn't look away from them; they were so captivating, so sad and mysterious - as if a million thoughts were swimming behind the colours of the sea, peeking out at him but never fully revealing themselves.

"Sorry," the male said, sounding honest. "I'm not a good company tonight. Thank you for the drink, though."

"No problem, you're welcome, bro." He wouldn't get a story tonight, that much was obvious, but it really didn't matter anyway. He finally managed to look away from those aqua-green eyes, swallowed his drink in one go before relaxing a bit more in his seat. "If you ever need to talk to someone who isn't partial, I offer my free services."

"At what prize?" the man asked, only a hint of a joke in his tone.

"Heh. I said _free_, bro."

"Nothing is ever free." And the hint that was there before was gone - depression can be a pain to get rid of.

"It helps just to talk, even if you don't get any answers." It's true; most people in the bar drinks to forget about their misery, but once Ilforte or someone else got them to talk they were able to move on instead of wallowing in self-pity or becoming a regular at the bar. Not that they don't want customers, but they don't want people to become alcoholics either.

"You're right. I might take you up on that offer some day." The customer then extended his hand, which Ilforte caught in his own and greeted. "I'm Kaien, by the way."

"Ilforte. Nice to meet you." The hand was warm, firm yet soft, which Ilforte had to reluctantly let go of again. One can positively say that this was the first time Ilforte has felt this captivated by someone. Captivated as in _curious_, not childishly falling in love at first glance. Besides, he doesn't want to get involved with people who needs to chew anti-depressive medications - pills has a lingering taste that doesn't mix well with his taste. And just because the guy introduced himself doesn't necessarily mean that he is interested in any kind of way. No need to jump to conclusions.

**X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X**

**BACK AT THE PARTY**

**X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X**

It isn't as bad as I had feared. Well, it was quite scary to see Kon chasing Shiro amid the dancing people, knocking over quite a few of them until it ended up in a _follow-the-leader_ game where everyone was shouting and trying to hit each other. It all calmed down eventually, though, but in the meantime I was deep into thoughts while simultaneously trying to avoid being caught up in the middle of the chaos. Jaegerjaquez had confessed that he is at least bisexual, which is a huge shock to me. He's a very manly man! How come he isn't surrounded by girls? Must be because he isn't projecting the signals to them that he is interested. But there isn't any guys around him either, apart from his friends. I just don't understand. He could have just about anyone he wanted, but he isn't even trying. To me, that is just stupid. He was very shaky when he told me, as if he was afraid of how I would react. Of course, I probably would have been too, but what bothers me is that even after he confessed and we shook hands, he still had something hanging over him, something he wouldn't tell me. Why hadn't he? To make sure he knew that I wasn't upset with him or having second thoughts about our friendship, I smuggled out my phone from my pocket and sent him a text-message.

_..._

_Hey Kitten! You wouldn't believe how crazy this party is!_

_Everyone is playing follow-the-leader but it looks more like the Chicken Dance to me!_

_You should have come in with me! Not too late yet, you know._

_..._

I know Kon is supposed to be my company tonight, but he is kind of busy, isn't he? Besides, Jaegerjaquez needs cheering up. And isn't three more fun than two? I would have seen if Chizuru was anywhere around, but I bet she is out on a date with her girlfriend again (if you can call it a 'date' with someone you're already together with). I really want Jaegerjaquez to come, because he is my friend and I don't want him to feel ashamed about himself around me; just like I don't want to feel awkward with him. I mean, just because he's gay doesn't mean he automatically likes _me_!

"Hey," a voice appears right next to me, making me jump and yelp. It's Chad. Wow, I can't believe he would come up to greet me on his own accord; it almost never happened before. He appears to feel just as misfit as I do, which is probably why he came to me in the first place.

"Ah, Chad-san! How nice to see you!" Usually I would cower away from his large built, but I don't feel as uneasy with his height compared to mine anymore, because I've met someone who is taller than him - Nnoitra; whom is also a lot scarier than our silent giant. "Here on your own?" I ask him, and he nods and hums his reply. "Not quite sure if I can say the same for myself, but seeing as Kon is everywhere but here..." I mumble mostly to myself, positive that my words went on deaf ears due to the blaring music and loud voices all around us. I was temporarily side-tracked by the vibrating phone I still held in my hand.

_..._

_Sounds insane._

_I suppose I can come over if you agree to have one dance with me. Those are my terms._

_..._

I hadn't expected him to put up an ultimatum. But considering how I must have made him feel all this week, one dance is the least I can give him. Besides, it doesn't really matter who you dance with, right? No one will think that we are a couple. Glancing out at the dancefloor that had returned to normal again, I spot a few groups of females dancing together and nobody thinks that they are weird. I even see Shiro and Renji dancing together, but then everyone knows that those two are strange and therefor it comes as no surprise that they would dance with each other. I dare to bet that no one would be surprised if they shared a kiss, and even if they did no one would think that they are anything but close friends. So who would care if I danced with another guy? I used to dance with Mizuiro, after all.

_..._

_Deal. Call when you are close by, I'll meet you outside._

_..._

Speaking of which, I haven't seen Mizuiro at the party. Chad is here, still standing next to me, and I think I spotted Ishida and Orihime over by the snacks. Even Ichigo and Rukia is here, which surprised me considering the tense atmosphere - I have to ask Kon about how they all get along at home; it doesn't take a genius to figure out that Shiro must be upset with Ichigo. Not that I am interested in gossip, I'm only curious! I wonder if Jaegerjaquez will really turn up... It's been an hour since he dropped me off here, he was probably at home when I wrote asking him to come over. Well, I did ask him in the car, but he refused - what made him change his mind? Or will I receive a text soon where he tells me that he was only joking about coming. I hope he comes, because I want to at least have one dance tonight! Even if it only is with him. Why else go to a disco if you won't dance?

_Beep. Beep._

"Gyah!" My cell-phone is quite accustomed to suicide-dives by now, and I fear this might be its last. And I must see it in slow-motion, witnessing every tormenting second of it flying first up in the air and then ever closer to the floor where the awaiting doom is obviously waiting. Then... a large, rough hand stops the fall. Huh? I must look stupid, staring at the scene with huge questionmarks above my head. "Chad-san?" Indeed, Chad saved my phone from certain death. "Saviour!" I exclaim, tears building up in my eyes; I am so relieved, I can't help it! "Thank you!"

"No problem."

He hands me my phone and I give it a loving caress before reading my text-message. Apparently Jaegerjaquez hadn't been joking, because he wrote that he would be here in ten minutes. Maybe he hadn't driven home at all, then.

"Yo, guys! Why are you drooling over your phone when you're at a disco?" Kon grabs my phone before I have a chance so react, and to my dread he reads my message. First he frowns, but then his expression turns a little softer yet somewhat mocking. "Ah, inviting buddies, eh? So who is this? Your girl?"

"No, it's a guy, and he's my friend!" I try to get my phone back, but Kon holds it out of reach, a grin on his face. "Please, give it back!"

"Woah, not so fast! No need to get all defensive." I am not ashamed of pouting - it is my master-attack in situations like these. "Oi, what's with that face?" Almost instantly Kon's grin is wiped off and replaced by a worried frown. "Hey, I didn't mean any offense!" As if scared I might start crying, he shove my phone back into my hand, looking around us as if expecting an audience. Yes, I won! "Che, that was a girly move. I only wanted to know who the person is."

"He's just a friend," I repeated, now with a bright smile on my face because I got my phone back safely and it's back inside my pocket where it belongs.

"So you're already bored with my company and decided to replace me."

"No! That's not why I-"

"I'm kidding!" Phew. I felt like a bastard for being so thoughtless. Kon is actually an okay guy, not all touchy about details like Mizuiro used to be. I would have understood if Kon had been upset, though, because it would seem as if I was bored with him, but I have to make up with Jaegerjaquez too, and this seemed like a good opportunity to do so. "I haven't been keeping you company either, so it's fine," Kon continued, clapping my shoulder. "Besides - the more, the merrier! Right Chad?"

"Mm." Right, I forgot about Chad. I would've thought he had left by now, but apparently not.

**X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X**

"Ya 'lright?" Shiro could no longer ignore Renji's sad eyes directed in the direction of Ichigo and Rukia. This is a party! One of the organizers shouldn't be sad.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Sighing, Renji shook his head before turning towards his friend with a wide fake grin. "I'm just gonna pretend they're not here!"

"Che, as if that's possible." Glancing at his brother, he noted that the constant scowl had deepened considerably. _'Perhaps he saw Renji and felt guilt,'_ Shiro thought. But then he might be thinking too high of his brother, whom had no problems with jumping into bed with his friend's girlfriend. "Ya need'a get over her, she ain't worth your pain."

Renji's fake smile turned real but pained too. He wished that Shiro could understand his true feelings for the albino, that he wasn't just playing around anymore. Of course it still hurts to see the girl he had loved since a very young age, the girl who stole his heart, toyed with it, then tore it away, stomped on it and dumped it in a dumpster without any regrets. It was bound to be painful for a very long time, especially when they run into each other every day. But he didn't love her anymore. Those feelings had transferred to someone else, someone he was very close to, spent most of his days with. And he was completely clueless...

"Le'z dance some more!" Shiro shouted and grabbed Renji's wrist, pulling him with him to the middle of the dancefloor where they couldn't see the bitch anymore. The redhead was dancing as if he only did it because he had to, which didn't sit well with the albino, knowing perfectly well that it ws up to him to make this party worth the while for Renji. Leaning closer to his redheaded friend, Shiro spoke into the other's ear. "Can I go home with ya t'night? 'Less ya find yaself a nice girl ta bring home, that is."

"H-huh?" Renji trembled at the words spoken into his ear, shivered when the hot breath tickled his sensitive skin. He knew he should say 'no', knew that he was only playing himself deeper into the hell that was his life at the moment, but he couldn't refuse. "Of course!" he answered quickly, feeling his heart flutter painfully at the stupid naive hope that penetrated his mind. Renji answered the grin he received from Shiro with a grin of his own, but inside he knew that this joy would be short-lived.

**X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X**

"It's cold!" Kon complained, standing with Keigo outside the club, waiting for Grimmjow to arrive. "It better not start snowing tonight, coz I didn't bring a warm jacket."

"Hm, I don't think it will." Keigo looked up into the now dark sky. The sky is normally brighter if snow is in the air, and this evening it was nearly pitch black. "You don't have to wait with me, you know."

"Hmpf, I gotta make sure you don't run away. I don't wanna be alone in there."

Keigo would have questioned why Kon was so determined not to be alone, but he spotted blue hair walking towards them and therefor kept quiet. Now that he saw Grimmjow again, so soon after the confession, he didn't know how to act. Should he act like he had done up until now, or would that be like ignoring the new-told truth? Should he comment on his sexuality, suggests guys, ask him what made him go for guys? Perhaps it had been too soon to see the cat-loving male. Studying the expressionless face coming closer, Keigo felt terrible. He was making Jaegerjaquez feel even worse than before, which is what he meant to mend when he wanted Grimmjow to come to the party. That had to change.

"Hey!" he greeted animatedly, waiving his hands excitedly and smiling brightly towards the somewhat surprised Jaegerjaquez. "It's really great that you could make it!"

"Heh, as if I could say no twice," Jaegerjaquez grinned, stopping beside the two males. He met Kon's eyes and extended his hand in a friendly manner. "Jaegerjaquez," he introduced himself. Keigo had told him that the male they had met at the Mall earlier that week was in fact this person's brother (triplets, even), which is why he wasn't barking out threats right now - he wanted that other guy to get a piece of his mind, though, for aiming to hit Keigo with his elbow.

"Kon." The orange-head almost didn't let go of Grimmjow's hand (it was so warm against his freezing hands!) but felt he had to in order to not seem weird. "Can we go inside now? I'm fre-"

"Keigo!" a female voice interrupted, startling the three males. One by one they turned to where the voice had come from, and soon found that they were looking at a pink-clothed red-head, arm locked with another female dressed all in marine blue.

"Chizuru?" Keigo knew this evening was bound to go from bad to worse any moment now, what with the absurd belief she had about him and Jaegerjaquez, and the fact that she had it down 50% correct.

"I see it worked out for you," she winked at Keigo, whom blushed from head to toe. "You make such a sweet co-"

"Ah, hahah, Chizuru-san!" Keigo quickly interrupted, noting the curious glances they got from their three companions. "This is Lisa, I assume? Nice to meet you!"

"Hn, likewise. I'm not here to chat, I'm just here to dance with my doll." Blunt and not in the slightest bit interested in formalities.

"Heheh, eh, this is Jaegerjaquez, my friend, and I'm Keigo."

"And I'm Kon. Classmate."

During the introduction, Chizuru was trying to work out what was going on between Keigo and Grimmjow. She noticed it was tense and therefor assumed they had only just come clean, and she also noticed how close they stood which is a sign of their closeness. Heh, she could only assume they didn't want her to say anything because Kon was present; but they needn't bother to keep it a secret from him. She could have told them, of course, but she decided to keep silent for now; she could always congratulate them when there were no undesired attention on them.

"Lets go inside!" Chizuru started pulling Lisa along, grabbing Keigo as she passed him. "We can have a group-dance!" She noted that Jaegerjaquez and Kon were following them inside, smirking when her plan at least started out smoothly.

**X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X**

**ELSEWHERE**

**X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X**

There was one very obvious reason why Ilforte wasn't persuing his interest in this Kaien - the golden ring around his finger. He could overlook this trinket, assume that it is only for looks and not a symbol, but he would only be proven wrong. There was no way this man wasn't married. Why he was at the bar, drinking too much and looking depressed, was still a mystery; one which Ilfrote had given up on trying to figure out. Besides ordering a few drinks together, they hadn't really talked all that much, and after noticing the ring Ilforte hadn't made much effort either, but it would seem as if Kaien was starting to send more curious glances at his blonde companion. Perhaps wondering why the blonde stranger was hanging around despite the lack of conversations. It was actually becoming a little annoying to have those aqua-green eyes looking at him every so often.

"I believe it is time for me to get going, bro." He couldn't tell the customer to leave, which is why he decided to leave himself.

"Hm? Already?" Kaien seemed surprised.

"Hn. Believe it or not, but I actually have to work tomorrow."

"I see." Turning fully to face Ilforte, Kaien gave a wide grin and reaching out his hand again. "Thanks for the drinks. I'll repay some time."

"No problem, bro." Once more squeezing the other hand, feeling the warmth radiating through the other man, Ilforte accidentally felt the ring around his finger. Letting go of the hand, eyes meeting for a short minute. "See you another time, then." With that, Ilforte waived his goodbye to the man and left, certain that they would not meet again.

**X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X**

**AT THE PARTY**

**X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X**

Since we entered the club together we have been on the dancefloor without any paus. It's almost impossible to tell who is dancing with whom, but that Lisa is only interested in Chizuru is obvious by the way she makes certain she is touching the younger female at all times even if she is facing someone else. Kon is dancing with Orihime, who joined us a while ago, but they don't make it a contest out of only dancing with each other. I am mostly trying to determine if Chizuru is completely over Orihime or not, but so far I haven't noticed a single glance towards the orange-haired woman. I have managed to uphold my promise to Jaegerjaquez too, which I am proud of. We danced together with the others most of the time, but at one time he grabbed my wrist and turned me away from them, grinning madly and with a gleam in his eyes. Disco-music isn't that bad to dance to with another male, even though he was moving quite close and leading me with his body-language. I love to dance, and Jaegerjaquez is a splendid partner, even though I've had a blush painted on my face for most of the time. The fact that he likes men isn't as scary anymore, because I trust him - he is my friend, he is honest with me, and he hasn't done anything inappropriate. Besides, several girls at the club has stared at us, obviously jealous that jaegerjaquez hasn't even spared them a single glance. I don't blame them - he is an attractive man, his dance-moves seductive and sensual; he would have a long line of people who wanted to dance with him here tonight if he wanted to. But he only has eyes for me, so I feel very proud. He is such a great friend! I - Asano Keigo - am no longer a lonely geek! I have a great friend, and I do not care whether he is straight or gay as long as he is with me. I couldn't ask for more. Well, I could ask for one thing, and that is to keep my male pride, which is why I make my next move.

I turn towards Jaegerjaquez, whom had been dancing next to me for a while now, and meet his eyes with a determined look in my own. He seems to catch my drift and submissively shifts closer to me. This is my chance to prove that his sexuality does not affect me, and to prove to everyone else that I am not a cowardly geek. To make it more clear, I grab his wrists, at which he flinch a little but doesn't make any attempts to shrug me off. He lets me lead him, while I try my best not to lose my sense of tact. Besides, they are playing my favourite song, I couldn't pass it up! _Enjoy the Silence_ with Depeche Mode and remixed by Linkin Park. It may be a bit slow compared to other disco-songs, but whenever I hear it, it goes straight to my core. The words kind of suits the situation too, if one doesn't read too deeply into it.

It seems like I am doing good, considering the smile on the other's lips and the fact that he has closed his eyes is a sign of trust. At least I think it is. I still have a grip around his wrists, and I can feel the drumming of his pulse beneath my fingertips, echoing the drum of the music - weird, don't you think? Here I am, dancing with my gay male friend, and all I can think about is feeling his pulse beat with the music. I am such an idiot. But I am a happy idiot!

**

* * *

_This is where I break this chapter._**

_**Thank you for reading!**_

_REVIEWs are very welcome! ^^_

_Did you like this chapter? Something you are displeased with?_

_Something you wish to read in this story?_

_It is unpredictable, anything can happen._

_Take care!_

_/__**Namantos**_


	18. Chapter 18

_**Yo everybody!**_

_**Sorry for the long delay - I haven't forgotten the story, nor given up, and I appreciate all of the reviews and mails from all of you! Thank you!**_

_**I hereby present the long overdue **__**Chapter 18**__** and I hope that there isn't too many grammatical errors (still have no grammar-check and I'm still too lazy to get one). Hopefully the chapter is understandable enough.**_

_**Have a good reading ^^**_

* * *

_**Chapter 18**_

_A door opens silently and closes shortly after. Two pair of shoes lay discarded in the dark hallway while their previous inhabitants softly tiptoes into a room all laid in complete jet black darkness. Inside the dark confinement, a strong hand lifts the shirt covering foreign territory, teasing soft skin with the tip of the fingers, creating a pattern on unmarked tissue and leaving goosebumps in their trail. Wet lips picks up the trail, following the fingers' pattern, until they reach the yet untouched nipple and nibbles on the sensitive skin - they answer by hardening and becoming erect between merciless lips; a soft moan is produced as a result. Within the silent room, a single breath comes out loud as a sonic shock wave, and said moan sends electric shock waves into those abusive lips and throughout both their bodies, causing sharp teeth to dig into taut flesh and pull out a pained growl from a tight throat, unused to produce such sounds. With all five senses working actively, their mind goes into hyperdrive, sending them spiraling into a raging storm of emotions, making them overly sensitive to any stimulus, but also blocking out anything that does not involve them or does not demand their immediate attention. It is only them, their bodies and their needs; nothing else._

_Leaving the abused nipple, teeth rasp across burning skin upwards, up until reaching the juncture of neck and shoulder; biting down teasingly, licking, feeling the pulse beat erratically. Trembling skin is revealed bit by bit, heartbeat by heartbeat, until the shirt lay discarded and forgotten on the floor by their feet. Large slender hands immediately travels to the forgotten button on the jeans, flipping it open and slowly pulling the zipper downwards. At the shortening of a breath, the teasing lips leave their temporary resting-spot by the neck and captures a responsive pair of lips in a bruising kiss to swallow any verbal complaints; words are no longer desired. Deft fingers pulls the zipper all the way down, letting them slide dangerously low without adding any pressure. Thumbs hook into the waistband of the briefs, waiting for approval._

_Breathing raggedly, mouth falling open only to be invaded by a curious and demanding tongue; now engulfed in a battle of dominance, forgetting all about the disobedient fingers slowly, too slow to notice, sliding down black briefs. Soon it becomes very obvious that the briefs are going down, because the waistband seems reluctant to expose the slowly growing flesh for the world to see, hooks onto the flesh, making it jump right back up when the briefs finally lose the battle against firm fingers. Wet lips once more descend to discover new territories, the rough tongue wetting and lapping in its wake downhill, eliciting new moans and sweet sounds to fall from the other's lips, drowning the dark room with this secretive music._

_As lips descent, so does clever hands, pulling down jeans and briefs until they hit the floor, guiding the other out of the clothes. Breathing on the exposed flesh, warm and sensitive, extracts a deep growl from the victim, egging mentioned devious tongue to slip past soft centerguards and lick the swollen flesh protruding so teasingly close. A shock wave from over-stimulation pass through the naked body like bolts of electricity, knotting all sensory receptors into a bundle focusing on one area only, momentarilly forgetting how to remain upright as knees gives out. Having foreseen this, strong hands support the body, keeping it upright, while quickly leaning forward to capture the hardening flesh within the mouth's cavity, offering both warmth and slick friction._

_Keigo's muscles twitch in erratic spasms, hands jerk aimlessly until getting a merciless grasp in soft spiky hair, twisting, his nerves aflame and tingle by the abuse, and he has to lean on the abuser to remain standing. He is shivering, mumbling incoherent words, pulling at silky hair while feeling the most wonderful yet traumatizing sensations wash through his body. Sharp teeth scrape the side of his shaft, making him whine pathetically, only to whimper again at the loss of warmth and the wondrous friction._

_Pulling the other body up by the hair, Keigo's swift hands pull at the shirt covering the other body, throwing it somewhere on the floor. Caressing soft skin covering toned muscles, feeling the six-pack of flexing abs beneath tentative hands, working upwards to flick over protruding nipples, gently massaging the pecs - jealousy of the body before him, but also adoration. Fingers assertively curl around the exposed throat, adding only a little pressure to intensify the dominance, and pull the other down until he can capture the other's lips in a soft, sensual kiss, not at all as dominant as the hand around the throat. The free hand finds the longer hair by the neck and pull roughly, ultimately breaking the kiss, and the room is filled with a mewl from deep down a dry throat. A rough hand grabs onto his member, at which Keigo answers by pulling harder on long strands of hair, loving the hiss that followed._

_"Ah, Grimmjow... I lo~"_

"~aaaaaaaaaaaaah!" Brown eyes speckled with green roam the room hurriedly from side to side, ceiling to floor, then search the bed with panic evident in his whole being, _expecting_ to find a dreadful truth. There is nothing there. "A d-dr-dream?" Cold sweat ran down his forehead, his back was soaked and he had a very evident problem down south; quite an embarrassing predicament he had got himself into. "Thank god it was just a dream!"

Keigo had had dreams like that before, mostly with girls playing the counterpart, but also a few times with boys; never any male he _knows_, though. That's what made this dream so embarrassing, because if it had been a random guy he knew he would never meet, then it meant nothing. But dreaming about a friend... one he knows to be gay, on top of that... that is just wrong. It is _wrong_ that the dream affected him this way! It is _wrong_ that he almost wished he hadn't woken up just yet! And it is _definitely wrong_ that he had been about to _dominate _Jaegerjaquez in his dream! Jaegerjaquez is _not _the _submissive_ type! Right? He _couldn't _be! Or was he? _NO! _Of course not!

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There is only one reason why Keigo would be going to school on a Saturday - he was forced to be there. Granted, several schools actually do have classes on Saturdays, but not Keigo's school. Nope, he was here now because his father knew the headmaster and he had promised that Keigo would come to clean up in school after the teachers Christmas-get-together dinner - somehow, that put Keigo in a better position for higher grades. That is not how Keigo wished to pass the school, but his father insisted on pulling strings and be in control - all Keigo had to do was smile and do as he was told. So he did. He was not alone; some other parents had the same tactics and have contacts in different places that could have an impact on the school. The headmaster is quite easy to manipulate, if one has a clever tongue - this is so obvious that it's silly, really. They are six students doing the cleaning, all spread out and working mostly in silence - Keigo stays well away from all of them, seeing as they are either bullies or self-proclaimed gods; all of whom doesn't get along with him at all. He is a target, after all, even to the geekiest of geeks. Even the _schoolkeeper _has got it in for him! Why else give him the broken mop and the leaking bucket and insist that they were in perfect shape before given to him? They have been rubbish ever since last year when it was last used! (by Keigo that time too, actually...) Come Monday, the Headmaster of the School will tell Keigo that he has vandalized school-property and have to remain after school as a punishment; cleaning all the boards has been a popular punishment. Everyone simply likes to pick on the weakest; that's a lesson Keigo has learned well. He doesn't want to be viewed weak, but the word must be written on his forehead for everyone to see, because no matter what he did or how he acted he always became the loser, the victim.

As soon as he was finished cleaning up at school he was supposed to go to the Mall and have his two days of information on the work-place and walk next to a regular employed at the bookstore. All he really wanted to do was go home and read a book or two, maybe even call and see if Jaegerjaquez was free. But... seeing his bluehaired friend now would be awkward after that dream. And his father would kill him if he didn't go to his assigned work-place. Besides, Jaegerjaquez had said something about going on an interview with someone, so he probably shouldn't disturb his blue-haired friend. What kind of an interview could that be? Jaegerjaquez doesn't have much left of his education either, so teoretically he could start up his own company soon; that would surely impress Keigo's father. Not that he wanted his father to be impressed! That would just be weird, especially now. Especially after that dream...

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"I will go with the cataloguez to the stores," Shūhei announced, sticking his head inside the doorway. "I'll be back in an hour or so."

"A~ah, we're blessed with such a devoted worker. Don'cha agree, Rangiku-chan?"

"Yes, we truly are!" The overly joyous woman with the oversized chest skipped up to Shūhei and threw her arms around him, hugging him tightly; not a tiny bit worried about the possibility of suffocating the poor man. "If it weren't for _you_, _I'd_ be the one doing all the boring work! And that would be _awful!_"

"Nah, if I'd sent ya to deliver anythin', ya'd only go shoppin' and forget all about work!"

"Aww, that's not fair!" Rangiku let go of the now slightly red-faced Shūhei and glared into the office at the pale man with the sly look, sitting behind his desk. "I am an excellent assistant!"

"Shūhei-san," the man behind the desk says, ignoring the golden female's glares. His partly closed eyes fasten on the scarred face in the doorway, and locks with a pair of steely orbs. "Ya've been workin' loads lately. Take the rest of the day off, once you've delivered the cataloguez."

"But I-"

"I insist! Won't dock your pay or 'nythin'."

"Bu-"

"Ya need it, Shūhei-san! We don't work regular hours, I know ya've been doin' over-time, an' I won't take no for an answer. Go! Schuu!"

"Uhm..." Staring at his boss, Shūhei tried to reason why he was being sent home this early, but he was also grateful. Though, frankly it felt very strange to know that he would be home from work only an hour or two after lunch. "Alright, sir. I'll... go now." As if expecting it to be a joke, he walked slowly down the hallway, waiting for his boss to call him back and tell him that 'of course he was supposed to come back to work!'. But instead...

_"See ya t'morrow, Sh__ūhei__-san!"_ Shūhei was indeed shocked, but he kept on walking, overhearing his boss and his secretary discuss something that wasn't an all that unfamiliar subject; especially not during the circumstances.

_"Why don't I ever get to go home earlier? There are tons of things I need to do! Like shopping! There is this gorgeous dress I have wanted to get my hands on since forever! And-"_

_"Cuz' ya ain't workin' as hard as anyone else, Rangiku dear."_

_"But Gi~iiin!"_

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**Two Hours Later**

_Keigo's P.O.V._

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This is _the most boring_ job I've ever had to endure, and I am only on my first day. Books... Barely any comics and not a whole lot of customers either; most of the time it's been me and the other sub alone in the store. He is this really serious guy with a bored expression or a frown on his face - his name is Hitsugaya Tōshirō, and he is a freshman-year student at my school; I've seen him around, but I've never needed to meet him until now. You know what's scary? Tōshirō looks _a lot_ like Jaegerjaquez. It's true! I can almost imagine Jaegerjaquez ten years ago! Creepy... Though, while the looks does remind me of my blue kitten, the frowning is more like Ichigo. And he is just as short-tempered as Nnoitra on a bad day. Anyway! This guy totally has a stick up his rear (as Jaegerjaquez would have put it, only with a slightly more vulgar use of language). Whenever I try to start a conversation, he growls. Yes, _growls!_ Why am I always stuck with the unsocial dudes? Am I cursed? At times like these I wish my father wouldn't be so controlling. I could be working with something _fun_ if only it had been up to me! Like... in the game-shop, or at a café, or some restaurant - wherever, as long as it actually attracts customers! Or better yet, I could be _at home_ playing videogames. Ah, this horror that is called my life...

I jump to attention when a new customer enters, silently thanking Tōshirō for being uninterested to work at the moment, too engulfed in some book he has been reading since I got here. This means that _I_ finally get to do something. I greet the customer happily before I even see who it is, and when my eyes does land on him I am somewhat surprised. A tall man in casual business-clothes, dark hair in disarray and three scars running from beneath the hairline and down the cheek and throat, crossing a steely grey eye. As if I could ever forget the man who drove me home! He, too, seems to recognize me.

"Oh, hello," he greets back in a friendly manner. "I didn't know you work here."

"I don't, really. Only over the holidays." I wonder what he works with; he didn't exactly strike me as a guy in a business-suit, but I was obviously wrong. "Going home from work, mister..." Lucky me he wears a name-tag, because I had forgotten his name. "...Hisagi-san?"

"Please, call me Shūhei." Right, that's the name! "And yes, I am on my way home. Thought I'd pop in to buy a book in this serie I have been reading; it is newly released."

"Alright, what's the name of it? I'll see if we have it in!"

While he was giving me information of this book and I was checking it on the computer-register, I felt my phone buzz in my pocket; a text-message, apparently. Only one person writes to me - Jaegerjaquez. Does that mean his interview is finished? Ah, found the book! Now, how do I see where they have placed it in the store? Hrm...

"I heard you modelled for Szayel." Shūhei was smirking.

"What?" If my eyes could grow any larger, they would swallow up my face. How did he know about my modelling?

"I heard it from Ayasegawa-san." Well, that answers my question. Wait... How does he know Yumichika? "He said you were a natural."

"R-really?" Yumi said that about me? Wow, I should probably hold him in higher regards. Even though he did torture me with makeup...

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Slowly tapping his bony fingers against the desk, creating a chilly tune, humming incoherent words along with the rhyme, the silvery male glanced at the man being lead out of his office by his golden-haired assistant. It had undoubtedly been a good offer, nearly too good to turn down. Aizen would most likely try to sabotage this deal, and that might prove disastruous for the Shinsō Company. However there is one small catch with signing this deal - Shinsō Company would no longer be a sole proprietorship, but shared between two people, and it would certainly gain a lot more unwanted attention. Though, it would also bring attention to Europe, which is extremely good for business. So, like before mentioned, it is an offer too good to ignore. If, however, Aizen manages to sabotage, they might be out of a job, and all the hard work would be thrown into another deep abyss of failures. In the business-world there are a lot of failures, which is why they have to make sure to gain tremendously on the winnings.

"Well?" Rangiku said as she reentered the office. "That was a pretty good offer, don't you think?"

"Mm, 'twas."

"So?" Rangiku inquired, sitting down atop of the desk. "Why did you tell him that you would have to think about it? It is too good to turn down."

"Ya don' understand business, love. Ya gotta keep 'em sweatin', or they'll play ya for a fool one'a these days." Gin sighed. "When Aizen hears about this, he'll try ta either sabotage for us or find a better business-partner, an' we gotta be prepared for anythin' he might throw at us."

"Could there possibly be a better business-partner than this boy?" She might not be the most clever business-woman, but she knows a good catch when she sees one.

"...He's certainly an interesting boy, that Jaegerjaques."

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It was only after Hisagi had left the store with his desired book that Keigo remembered that he had gotten a text-message earlier. He had to be descrete if he wanted to check it at work; he was sure that the Jaegerjaquez-dwarf-copy would tell the boss just to spite him. He was so certain that it had been Jaegerjaquez who had written that when he finally found a hide-out to read it and saw that it _wasn't_ the kitten he felt sadly disappointed. Keigo wanted to know if he had gotten that job! The one who _had_ written was Kon. They had exchanged numbers at the x-mas party the other night, as well as Keigo had gotten Chizuru's number. To think that he had gone all this time feeling lonely and worthless when there were two other people in his surroundings that could've washed away that feeling just about anytime if he had only believed in himself enough to step up and talk to them. Life sure is unpredictable.

_..._

_Yo Keigo! How is work for you?_

_I had a great time last night! We have to go out and do something again soon!_

_Hey, are you on the Brickwall? Add me if you are! My ID is called "King Kon" - pretty original, right ;D_

_Well, my show starts now, so catch ya later!_

_/Kon_

_..._

_'King Kon?'_ Keigo is not surprised by that nick-name, it is just like the lion to pick a name like that. As soon as Keigo gets home he would add Kon to his list of friends on the Brickwall, but for now he had to stand there and be bored until another customer stumble inside. Come to think of it, he hasn't been as active on the Brickwall Community lately, because he's been texting Jaegerjaquez through the phone instead - the blunette is the only one he keeps an active chat with anyway, it's not like he's missing anything.

Speaking of Kon - that guy has his own radio-show! Well, only those who knows the station can listen to him, but still! Keigo is quite jealous, even though he wouldn't dare to talk on the radio or TV or anything like that. He just... wish that he could be more like Kon and Jaegerjaquez like that and enjoy being watched. Only a little more self-confidence and he might've been like them... Sigh, but it's always "a little bit more and it would be fine". The problem with having low self-esteem is that you will believe that everything bad is meant to happen to you, and therefor it _will_ happen because you expect it. Keigo is so accustomed to this that he hasn't seen how much his thoughts has affected him. He has been his own lock, kept himself safe inside his depressed state of mind. But now he has finally found the key and keyhole and has begun to crawl out of that confined area; all thanks to Jaegerjaquez and now Kon and Chizuru too. A lot of things still bothers him, though. Like why he was so easy to dump by people like Mizuiro and Ichigo, people he thought he could really count on.

"Are you daydreaming, or what?"

"Gyah!" Jumping a feet in the air, spinning in the same motion, Keigo came face to face with the scowling teenager he was working with. His heart was pounding so hard he could feel it through his ribs and hear it in his ears. "Don't scare me like that! I could've had a heart-attack..."

"Hn. We've got two new customers." With that, Hitsugaya left Keigo in the small staff-room.

Keigo followed the shorter boy, feeling stupid for having been caught unprepared, reading text-messages. He would have to be more careful in the future, unless he wanted to get fired and have his father furious at him. Still three more hours to go before he could leave this shit-hole... And 'boy is he hungry! His hunger reminded him of something that happened the other night, at the disco...

_..._

_FLASHBACK_

_..._

_"I'm so hungry I could eat a horse!" Jaegerjaquez roared. "I gotta get myself something to eat. You want anything?"_

_"Uhm, no, I'm fine. I had a bit to eat before I left."_

_"Fine. I'll be right back, kay? I noticed you can order food here." With that said, Jaegerjaquez made his way through the crowd, leaving Keigo with Kon on the dancefloor._

_Keigo stared after his blue-haired friend for a moment, feeling as if he was to blame for making Jaegerjaquez hungry. Well, at least guilty for keeping him from going home to eat proper food there. It's not like he had forced the other to come to the party, so theoretically he couldn't be blamed, but that didn't stop him from feeling that way. All evening he had tried to see some signs that he had previously missed, regarding Jaegerjaquez' sexuality, but if there were any then he couldn't see them. Perhaps it would becoem more obvious in a few days, when he has grown more accustomed to not being forced to keep it a secret. Though certain things did seem more understanding now that Keigo knew the big secret; such as the cuddling and the modelling and why he was so good to put on makeup on himself. That was simply things Keigo assumed gay men liked and was good at. However, in his own head he heard how narrowminded that sounded. He - the big loser and victim of bullies - did not want to be accused of being prejudicious!_

_He noted a girl walking up to Jaegerjaquez, obviously flirting. Theoretically, he is bisexual, so it wouldn't be all too strange if he found a beautiful girl to go out with. But judging from his confession, that he'd had one girl and three blokes, he obviously prefered men. For some reason, that thought twisted Keigo's lips into a smile. A smile that grew into a full-sized grin when he saw the girl stomp away from Jaegerjaquez, obviously turned down._

_"Hey, what are you smiling at?" Kon waved his hand in front of Keigo's eyes, startling the brunette. "It's just creepy!"_

_"S-sorry! I wasn't looking at anything! I just... I-"_

_"Alright, no need to get all defensive!" Kon smirked knowingly. "I saw that girl getting turned down by your friend over there." He put his arm over Keigo's shoulders, grinning. "He's obviously not a cheater!"_

_"W-What is that supposed to mean?" Keigo's eyes grew to the size of pizza-plates, and he started sweating. "We're not- You know, we aren't-"_

_"Relax, I'm only teasing!" Kon slapped his back in a friendly manner, and at the same time pushing him slightly forward. "Go keep him company, he must feel lonely here."_

_Keigo blushed but did as instructed and found Jaegerjaquez sitting at a small table in the corner between the dancefloor and the bar. When his blue-haired friend noticed Keigo walking up to him, Jaegerjaquez smiled invitingly and took a large bite out of a steaming baguette; which smelled delicious, by the way. Keigo sat down next to is friend, feeling slightly stupid when he thought of the conversation with Kon._

_"Oh, freakin' heck, this is great!" Jaegerjaquez exclaimed, mouth full of food. "Here!" He shoved the baguette into Keigo's stunned face. "Taste it! You'll love it!"_

_Swallowing nervously, Keigo opened his mouth and took a small bite out of the baguette - it looked like it was grilled chicken - careful not to take a bite on top of Jaegerjaquez previous one; that would just be weird. The blunette was beaming, looking at Keigo with childish expectations, and his grin grew even wider when Keigo's eyes widened after having swallowed the food._

_"Wow, that really was good!" Keigo had to admit, regretting that he hadn't accepted the offer of food earlier. But he wasn't really hungry, though._

_"I know!" Happily continuing to eat the grilled chicken baguette, Jaegerjaquez missed Keigo's expression - one of shock, confusion, and most of all the look of shame and embarrassment._

_Watching Jaegerjaquez eat that baguette, careless to Keigo's small bite of it, was too much for his overworked brain. He was obviously too deprived of bodily pleasures that this simple act of eating a baguette was creating dirty thoughts in his mind. It's insane to be thinking like that! He had to erase those thought quickly before he worked himself into a state he could not explain..._

_"Uhm, so..." He swallowed nervously, looking away from his eating friend. "What did that girl say?"_

_"Oh, she asked me if I wanted to dance and maybe go somewhere more private," Jaegerjaquez replied casually. He shifted his attention from the food to Keigo, finding the brunette all flushed and embarrassed. Though he was curious to find out what was wrong, he decided not to persue the matter at this moment. "I told her that I was spoken for and definitely not interested in her species."_

_"S-spok-" Keigo stopped himself, correcting his error. "Species?" What had he meant by 'spoken for'? Keigo was burning to know, but at the same time he didn't want to know._

_"Females." Grimmjow might be many things, but he is not stupid - he knew what was on Keigo's mind. He knew what Keigo had been about to ask, and that he for some reason had stopped himself from asking. "I admit, I lied. I'm not spoken for, but..." How was he supposed to say it without scaring the younger male? "Wishful thinking, I guess. Got her off my back, though, didn't it."_

_Keigo felt relief, which also made him feel even guiltier than before. Not only had he up until now been keeping Jaegerjaquez from admitting his sexuality, _now _he was feeling jealous of the thought that the blunette might find someone to love! He has no right to be jealous, no reason to be! This friendship-thing is really messing with his head..._

_"Hey, pup, wanna have another bite?"_

_..._

_END_

_FLASHBACK_

_..._

Could that have been the devil behind his shameful dream that night? Sharing a baguette with Jaegerjaquez... How could that possibly lead into a dirty dream? It had been a really tasty baguette, though, worth the embarrassment to be honest.

The rest of the working-hours, thoughts from the disco flooded Keigo's mind. It seems like he can twist and turn everything around and see it in a sexual manner, but he's certain that it's only because the knowledge is still too new for him to comprehend. Because even though Jaegerjaquez is gay, and even though Keigo is a guy and they are good friends finding themselves in all kinds of suggestive situations, it is simply impossible for the blunette to see anything in Keigo aside from friendship. It's a shock they're even _friends_, anything else would just be... Well, it wouldn't be possible. Though he did end up trying to figure out what kind of guys Jaegerjaquez likes, seeing as he himself is kind of tough but cuddly at the same time. He can't see him as a submissive person, but that doesn't mean that his partner has to be girly, does it? Admittedly, Keigo knows nothing about how gay relationships works, so he'd be better off not thinking about it. At least not over-thinking it, or he will end up even more confused than he already is.

When his first day of practice - which was more like a regular working-day, to be honest - was done and it was time to go home, Keigo was so hungry and tired that he was walking in a daze. Therefor he did not notice the shadow following him until it was too late.

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After his meeting with Ichimaru, Jaegerjaquez hadn't felt like going home. Not that it had felt like it had gone wrong, quite the opposite, but he had this urge to just drive around aimlessly. It had been an inofficial meeting, seeing as it was Saturday and only a small chat between the boss of a large business and an interested party (himself). He had promised to make something good out of himself, which is why he tried his very best to put in a good word and buy himself in. Surely that had to be impressive, if he could pull it off. Maybe then _they_ would finally cut him some slack.

Surprisingly enough, his bussines-meeting was not the subject that occupied his mind most of the time. Instead, a certain brunette kept popping into his thoughts, giving him shills (shills of the good kind). But how long would he be able to keep pretending? How long before Keigo started to suspect something? And... How long until it would totally scare Keigo away from him? Because that was a sure thing to happen. Whenever Jaegerjaquez got friendly with a straight guy, they would be too grossed out when they found out about him being gay, and keeping that friendship alive would be pointless. There were only a few straight guys out there that weren't bothered by having gay friends - and Keigo did not really fit in among them. He was too... easilly spooked. Too suspicious. Even though the pup put on a brave face at the party, it was painfully obvious to Jaegerjaquez that something bothered him. And what else could it be but the fact that Jaegerjaquez had only hours previously confessed his sexual preferences. However sad that was, Grimmjow had to come to terms with the fact that he might have ruined a good friendship. Sure, he dreamed of more, would trade almost anything to make Keigo love him back, but if it wasn't meant to happen then he was just torturing both of them by pressuring them into staying friends.

Love? No, it wasn't 'love', but he felt strongly for Keigo. He wanted him, but he was afraid that if he made advances on him then he would be gone forever. If they could stay friends, that would be enough for Jaegerjaquez. But... What if he couldn't drown his feelings? What if he kept feeling this way? No, he wouldn't be able to cope with that. No matter what Nnoitra had told him the other night, he knew that he wasn't strong enough to supress his emotions and get over it just like that, with a snap of his fingers. But at the same time he wasn't prepared to just give up on Keigo. He might come around, might come to terms with having a gay friend without feeling the need to stay alert all the time.

Though, admittedly, Keigo had surprised Jaegerjaquez at the party when he had started dancing and _leading_ him. Not many had tried to lead Jaegerjaquez, everyone assumed that he would see that as an insult. Some saw it as a challenge and tried to dominate him just because, but Keigo hadn't been like that. He had been firm, but innocent. And he had done that in front of all his classmates. Maybe Jaegerjaquez was just grasping for any ray of hope, perhaps he was reading too much into this. He sighed and shook his head.

"Ah, it sure feel great just driving around..." His stomach grumbled quite loudly, and he frowned. "Damnit, I'm hungry."

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He was running so fast he thought he might leave his own shadow behind, salty tears of shame and fright streaming down his red cheeks, but none of that mattered - he only wanted to get away. It was already getting dark but not dark enough to cover his tears; though people would only stop and stare at him, no one even tried to find out what was wrong. Even so, he barely registered any of it, blinded by desperation to get home. However, as he was passing the mall everything came to a sudden painful stop when a body came around the corner just as he was passing. He ended up lying in a pathetic heap on the hard ground, choking on sobs and caughing of the new pain from the collision and the uncomfortable landing on a particularly sharp rock. These things always happened to him, it came as no surprise anymore.

"Keigo?" an uncertain, almost caring, voice spoke in disbelief. The brunette couldn't reply, having a hard time breathing and shaking so bad he thought it'd bruise if he remained on the ground much longer. "_Shit_, Keigo!" He flinched as strong arms encircled him and pulled him off the ground, helping him to stand. He realized that the voice was quite familiar, and through the blurr in his eyes he caught a glimpse of blue; he never felt so relieved to see anyone before. Clutching the taller male's upper arm, Keigo managed to emit a small grateful sigh. "Come, let's go to my car."

Refusing to let go of his grip on the other's arm, fearing he'd go off in another blind race if he did, Keigo followed the blue-haired man to the parking-lot. Neither of them said a word as they walked, pushing through the crowd that had stopped to stare at the collision and the crying boy - nothing could stop them. Reaching the car, Keigo was shoved into the front seat, where he pulled his knees up against his chest and hid his face behind his arms, sobbing quietly. Soon the other seat was occupied too, and confined behind closed doors they felt secured enough to break the thick silence.

"What happened?" Jaegerjaquez asked, unsure of how to approach this. It wasn't every day he was run down in the street by guys crying their eyes out, but he was dead-sure it had to be a very serious reason for all of this; perhaps something he didn't really want to hear.

Hearing Jaegerjaquez' straight-forward inquiry made Keigo flinch, but for a whole different reason. Jaegerjaquez would think that he's a whimp, he would laugh at him and make everything worse! And Keigo would completely understand, too; he is pathetic after all. He couldn't tell the bluenette, , he simply couldnt risk it. So he sucked it up, swalloed the sobs and lifted his wet face from the confine of his arms.

"It's..." He had to lie. Just this once. "I-It's nothing. I ju-"

"This ain't fuckin' _'nothing'_, so don't give me that crap."

With the interruption and harsh words, Keigo's resolve broke and he could no longer keep from crying; forget about 'sobs', this was an all-out wailing. It took Grimmjow off guard, despite his demand - he ended up staring at his friend with wide eyes and open mouth, shock and fear written all over his face. He knew nothing about how to comfort anyone, but he thought it'd be easier if he knew why Keigo was so upset; even if he didn't want to know it afterwards.

"Tell me what happened," he requested, desperate for answers. "Tell me why you're crying."

"I... It's nothing!" Keigo tried again. "Really! I just-"

"You ran for your life! That's not 'nothing'! Now, _tell_ me!"

_..._

_FLASHBACK_

_..._

_Petrified._

_Immobilized by fear._

_Keigo had been scared daily all his life, but it was never like this; not by far. Not even when the store was robbed and he had a gun pointed at his head; at least that would have been a quick end. This scared him far more than any accident. He was so used to being robbed it seems fate had decided to promote him - a victim will always be a victim until his last breath is exhaled; and by the looks of things, he might not be a victim for much longer. Why did these things always happen to him? The unrelenting hand in his hair pulled roughly, but the pain did not register in Keigo's mind. He only saw those dark eyes, madness staring right _through _him instead of 'at' him. The crooked smirk that appeared the moment Keigo whimpered in fear and pain; such a smirk could only be worn by a madman. His vision went dark when his face was pressed against rouch clothes, his nose invaded by the stench of alcohol and an unnamed musky scent._

_This time, Keigo was certain that he would die._

_..._

_END FLASHBACK_

_..._

"He cornered me," Keigo began slowly, trying to keep from drowning in his tears, but he was already drowning in guilt and shame. "Hit me real hard in my abdomen so I toppled over. He..." He swallowed thickly, avoiding Grimmjow's terrified eyes. "He pulled my hair and... and pressed my face to his..." He felt sick. "Wh-When he unbuttoned his jeans, I kicked him! He fell, and I ran! I just ran..." Talking about it made him feel even more worthless, as if he attracted all the bad people, was followed by bad luck. Jaegerjaquez would want nothing more to do with him now.

"...I'll kill him," Grimmjow growled, his eyes afire with rage.

"N-no!" Keigo pleaded, terrified, grabbing Grimmjow's arm in a failed attempt to assure him that it was alright, that it didn't matter. "He was only drunk! He didn't do it on purpose!"

"Stop making excuses for him!"

"Please! I don't want you getting into trouble for me!"

"What he did is unforgivable! He's gotta pay for what he's done!" Only thing stopping Grimmjow from rushing out of that car was the fact that he did not know who had done this to Keigo. But that wasn't the main reason why he hadn't left his car yet - he could easily beat up any drunk idiot he could find out there for the possibility that they might hurt Keigo in the future. The reason why he remained seated in his car was Keigo's sad eyes. He couldn't leave him in this state. "I only want to warn him from ever laying a hand on you again. I won't hurt him, I promise." He would keep that promise, too, if it meant he could keep Keigo safe and happy. Despite his words, he saw that Keigo wasn't relenting. "What if it's a kid next time? A guy like that won't stop at age-difference."

"...Alright." Keigo knew it was true. No matter how much he wanted to forget about what nearly happened to him, he couldn't just be selfish and knowingly let a man like that get his hands on someone more helpless than Keigo had been. "Okay, I'll show you where I last saw him." There was no telling if he had disappeared by now, but at least he had tried to do the right thing. He even stopped sobbing, though tears kept falling.

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Attempting to teach that molester a lesson had been out of the question, seeing as Keigo's kick had already made him pass out. He was out of danger, though, it was probably just the booze keeping him asleep. And so, sullenly, Jaegerjaquez got Keigo back into his car and drove him home. The brunette didn't say a word, simply followed his friend and leat him lead him in - even gave him his keys to open the door, because Keigo was in too much shock to function. In the kitchen they found a note from Keigo's sister, stating that she would be sleeping somewhere else, which came as quite a relief for both of them.

"I'm hungry," was the first thing Keigo said, standing in the kitchen, staring at nothing in particular. "W-would you stay and help me with dinner? I... I don't want to be alone."

"Of course, mate. Anything."

Having finished the dinner - pasta and minced meat, simple enough for the circumstances - they went into Keigo's room. Keigo tried acting normal, as if he hadn't nearly been... raped. Remembering his promise to add Kon on the Brickwall, he logged on, all the while being closely watched by Jaegerjaquez. He easily found Kon and added him as a friend, not bothering to write anything to him because at the moment he didn't know what to write, or _do _for that matter. He wanted to forget, so he started talking about the first thing that came to mind.

"You'll never guess who I sold a book to today!" He tried to smile, but it came out half-hearted. "That friend of yours, Hisagi-san! I never thought he'd be a reader, even less could I imagine him in a suit! What does he work with, anyway? I never got to ask him that. Oh, then there was this old lady who-"

"Keigo," Jaegerjaquez interrupted, meeting the others scared eyes with his own calm ones. "You don't need to put on a brave face, you know. It's okay."

"What do you mean?" Keigo tried to laugh it off. "N-Nothing really happened, I'm fine! I'm-"

"It was still a traumatic experience. I understand." Finally, though he didn't want to see Keigo sad, the brunette broke apart, crying like he had earlier in the car. No matter how much it pained Jaegerjaquez to see the other cry, he knew that he had to get it all out - he shouldn't bottle this up inside of him and stay scared for the rest of his life. Jaegerjaquez started to leave the room to give his friend some space, but before he could get even a few steps from where he had been standing, smaller arms had entangled themselves around him, and a face was pressed into his back, between the shoulderblades, quickly soaking his shirt with tears. At first he felt uncomfortable standing there, with the arms of the guy he liked around him, listening to him cry. But then he decided that this wasn't for him, it was for Keigo. And if Keigo wanted him there, he would be there too. "Shh, it's alright, pup."

Twisting carefully in Keigo's grip, they soon faced each other. Well, Keigo burried his face in Jaegerjaquez chest, but at least he accepted being held back by much stronger arms. Keigo felt... safe when Jaegerjaquez hugged him, comforting him in the only way he could - just being there. He didn't want his friend to leave, didn't think he would be able to sleep that night. So he hugged Jaegerjaquez much tighter and gathered courage before asking him quite pathetically through the sobs.

"Can you please stay tonight?"

The question really took Jaegerjaquez off guard. It was probably a bad idea to stay, he would surely come to regret it, but he would also regret if he added to Keigo's sadness by refusing. It would be more painful for Jaegerjaquez if he stayed, but it would be Keigo who suffered if he left. And so, with a shaking voice and painfully pounding heart, the blunette gave his reply; the only reply he was able to give at that moment.

"I'll stay."

* * *

_**A/N:**_

_Chapter 18 was really difficult to finish,_

_but I hope it came out good in the end._

_I apologize for grammatical errors,_

_and I pray that you aren't too disappointed_

_with the chapter._

_**Reviews**__are much appreciated, it keeps me writing more._

_Feel free to add ideas to your review, or mail me personally._

_Take care!_

_/__**Namantos**_


	19. Chapter 19

**Greetings! Long time no see! I've been awfully busy, coz there's this thing called 'life' that keeps reminding me that I do have other things to do than write for my own pleasure. Well, I told 'life' to back off long enough to finish this chapter, so here it is!**

There is most likely grammatical errors, but they always occure no matter how hard I try to locate and erase them.

I have fresh ideas for the upcoming chapter, only have to put it down on paper too, so I hope you stay tuned to find out what will happen in the future for Keigo and Grimmjow and all the other characters in my fic.

So, I hope you have a good read, and that you give me creative feedback once you're finished.

Thanks beforehand! ^^

* * *

**Sunday 21 st of December**

_'I should've gone home to my cats,'_ he repeated over and over in his head, scolding himself for his weakness. Consoling is not something he's good at, and neither does he wish to become good at it. He is selfish that way. Protecting, that's something he can do. Talk and comfort? Generally that makes him feel uncomfortably inadequate and embarrassed, like despite his large built and oversized ego he is only this tiny powerless human-being who can't do a damn thing. Of course, being smitten means that you do stupid things like making yourself vulnerable; like digging your heart out with a spoon and place it on a silver-platter, pouring your soul into a cup and serve it with a raw egg. Better have a shovel and coffin ready, because it never ends well. But Jaegerjaquez is already too lost in this daze of 'Keigoinism' to find his way out of his own shirt. He wanted to be there, but... at the same time he wanted to leave; the only thing he will get out of staying is an awkward morning and perhaps a little gratitude. But he hadn't done anything useful. He had just stayed and let him cry, never said anything. Is that all he can offer - silence and a shoulder to cry on? He _should_ be there to _prevent_ bad things from happening, not just pick up the broken pieces! It's so infuriating to not be able to do anything! _'I really should've gone home...'_

Curled up against his chest Keigo had a fitful sleep, twisting and on occation whimpering in his sleep. Even though nothing extremely bad had happened it isn't a shock for Keigo to be having nightmares; in fact, it's natural. He could've been raped a few hours ago, had been abused mostly mentally and really scarred - if he _hadn't_ had nightmares it would've been downright bad. At least now he is processing the matter, which is the first step to getting over it. But while Keigo went through his nightmare, Jaegerjaquez experienced a different kind of nightmare in his waking state. There was a perfectly logical reason to why he had black walls at home - no shadows. But here... they were everywhere, dancing on the walls and making him twitch and fidget. He cursed the wind for making the trees shift in front of the lamp-post just outside of Keigo's window - it made the shadows on the wall shift and change, having him on the alert all the time. Silly being spooked by shadows at his age. His fear had been worse when he was younger, though. Once, when he was about nine years old, it was summer and the sun shun brightly, and Jaegerjaquez swore he was being followed but all he saw was random people going about their own business, and his own shadow. He was so sure it had to be _something_, that itchy feeling and the dark shadows he saw in the corner of his eye. So he started asking people if there was a big shadow following him - naturally people would laugh at him or say that he was crazy. One replied that 'yes, there _is_ a shadow constantly following you', and that had him running all the way home in panic, out of fear that the shadow would swallow him up. Later he understood that the person had meant that it was his own shadow following him, but the fear had already rooted inside of him.

He can focus on Keigo right now to keep his fears at bay. Listening to him sleep, albeit the nightmares, was quite calming. To feel another human so close. Still he could not sleep. His position on his side and with an arm beneath the younger male, fully clothed and still a bit cold made it far too uncomfortable to even try. Besides, Keigo's shifting would only wake him up f he did manage to nod off.

This wasn't how Grimmjow had imagined spending a night with Keigo. It was the second time, and neither had gone in the direction he wanted. Hadn't he pretty much decided to give up on Keigo? Stupid. The pup had a wicked way to crawl back in under his skin and re-chain himself every time Grimmjow broke free. No, to be free from this he had to be crushed, that much was obvious. Perhaps now was the best time to do that. Crush the lingering hope...

Unbeknown to Grimmjow, the nightmares had thrown the brunette back into the real world a while ago, but Keigo was too scared to let up the pretence of being asleep. Why does he feel so safe in Jaegerjaquez' arms? What is that emotion stirring up inside whenever he's near the bluenette? It's a dangerous emotion, one he does not wish to have. Keigo knew that Grimmjow was awake, could feel his brething, his heartbeats. He wanted to thank him somehow, thank him for being there, for being his friend. But he didn't know how to do that. What could he possibly say or do to make Grimmjow understand exactly how grateful he is?

He felt Grimmjow shift as if to move away from Keigo's hold, but he wasn't ready to lose the contact just yet. So he tightened his hold, clung to the older male, not caring that he had given himself away like that.

Grimmjow immediately stopped trying to undo their hold, feeling terrified all of a sudden. He had wanted some space between them before he crushed himself; looks like that's out of the question now.

"You're awake," he mumbled, testing his voice. It was now or never. "I'm-"

"Thank you for being here," Keigo blurted out before he got tongue-tied. "I appreciate everything you've done. And I..." He knew that something troubled Grimmjow - why else would he still lie awake - and he had a guess on what it might be about. But unless he was certain of the facts he wouldn't make inquiries, nor accusations.

Grimmjow cursed his weakness. He was too weak to let go of that frail hope. _'Damn you, Keigo, for breaking my resolve so easily!'_

"I don't want to lose you."

It had been whispered so low into his chest that Grimmjow nearly hadn't caught the words, but he _had_ and they made him hate himself even more.

"Ya won't, pup." He hates himself for not being able to let go of a hopeless dream.

The morning had been less awkward than Grimmjow had anticipated. And surprisingly he had managed to fall asleep and slept at least two hours. Keigo prepared breakfast for them, they ate together, talked about some things that was not related to the events of last night. They spent a few hours in front of the TV, playing games and enjoying themselves as the friends they were supposed to be, and then Keigo had to go to work at the Mall and Grimmjow really should get home to his cats. He drove Keigo to the Mall, watched him enter the building and thought he could see a change in the brunette. He looked slightly more alive, happier despite all the things that had happened the other day. And Grimmjow felt he should take some credit for that; he might just be what Keigo needs to build up his self-esteem. It was a small comfort, though, seeing as he himself was suffering in the process, but after having been selfish most of his life he supposed it was time he started thinking about someone else instead of himself.

* * *

**Skip to next day**

**Monday, 22nd December**

_**Keigo's p.o.v.**_

There I was, skipping down the school's hallway, crooning on some song I had heard on the radio yesterday (it's not like anyone would care even if I shouted from the top of my lungs) when suddenly a hand appears out of nowhere, grabbing my shirt and start to pull me in the opposite direction of the one I was heading in. Do I need to describe the highly undignified sound I emitted? Needless to say, but I flailed helplessly while wondering who would be crazy enough to want to be seen in my company. I mean, I am probably contagious! Within 5 seconds, this brave soul will be just as invisible as me - the wole school will have heard about him or her having been seen with me! But damn, that grip on my shirt is relentless! And the speed (all the while I have to run along _backwards_) makes it impossible for me to put a stop to this madness. All I can really do is go along. But... Why me, and where am I being hauled?

"Aah! Stop! Heeelp!" Why doesn't anyone come to rescue me? Everyone just stares, no one attempts to lift a finger to help poor little me! When did the world turn into such an uncaring, cold and cruel place? When did... Oh, nevermind. "Gah!" I'm thrown into a classroom, landing in a heap on the floor, praying that nothing is broken. The first thing I see is a guitar, then a keyboard. "Huh? The music-room? Why would they bring me h-"

"What's all this ruckus about?" demanded a voice I know well - the music-teacher; Muguruma Kensei. Yes, I'm saved!

"Sensei, save me!" I shout, faking tears (they always do the trick). "I've been kidnapped!"

"Huh?" Kensei stares at me as if I'm insane. Why? Can't he tell I'm being tortured here?

"I've 'cided who's gonna do the singin'," another familiar, _sinister_ voice stated.

"You have?" Kensei was blinking, just as confused as me. "Who?"

Honestly, it's good that he (I glance over my shoulder to find out who had been dragging me here (even though I knew his voice) - _Shiro?_) had found a singer, but what does that have to do with _me_? And why is he pointing at... _me?_

"Him."

"Huh?" I glance at Kensei, his eyes wide with disbelief. Then I glare back at Shiro, whom has a really scary, toothy smirk on his pale face. What is going on here? "M-m-m-me?" He nods as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, but to me it is the absolutely craziest and most ridiculous statement ever. "Aaah!" Now, I'm shielding myself from this madness by crawling into a tiny ball (if I'm small enough, they might forget that I'm here). _Please have mercy on poor Keigo! _"B-b-but I c-can't sing!" I defend. He can't force me! Kensei will save me.

"Plah, ya did in tha hallway! I heard ya, ya're perfect. Oi, teacher, put 'im up on the band."

"But I-"

"Oi, friends are s'posed ta help each other, yeah? Shut up an' deal with my decision!"

"... I wasn't even aware that we were friends." Gah, shouldn't have said that! He is the only one on this school who can match Nnoitra's most evil grin, and it's freaking me out!

"Okay, it's your band, not mine," Kensei finally said - the traitor! He was supposed to _save_ me, not sacrifice me!

"Aaa~ah!"

**An Hour Later**

Me, in a band? _**ME?**_ I can't even sing! And I can't play any instruments. I'm _afraid_ of Shiro, how am I ever going to be able to _sing_ with _him?_ This is not real. It has to be a nightmare, one I can't wake up from - I'm trapped and the only way out of this is a painful thump against a wall.

_***THUMP***_

"Ouch!" Apparently not... And now I'm gonna get a lump on my forehead. I absently pat the wall I had intentionally hit my rather delicate head against, as if asking for forgiveness; my stupidity surprises me sometimes. Needless to point out, but I did not wake up from this 'nightmare' - if anything it only got worse once I realized that it _was _reality. How would I ever get out of this living nightmare? My fingers seek out a familiar item, reaching into my pocket to grab my cell-phone, quickly following a habitual pattern to dial a certain number. For each hollow tone I feel my nerves cracking up even more. I need to hear that voice that always seems to calm me even though it's over a phone. One of those tones are broken and a gruff voice reaches my sensitive ear - I nearly headbang a door that ruthlessly opened in front of me; careless bastards! Uhm... where did that come from? "Oh, Grimmjow, I'm so happy you replied!"

_"Keigo? Whaz' wrong? Aren't ya in school?"_

"They ambushed me!" I whine pathetically, ignoring his questions. "Dragged me into that room and completely ignored my pleas!"

_"Whoa, slow down! What happened?"_ I'm so mean to worry him, I know, but I like the attention he gives. He cares.

"They are forcing me to sing in a band!" I cry into the mouthpiece, praying that it wasn't too high-pitched; I don't want to make him deaf. Hang on... Why isn't he saying anything? "Hello?"

_"...Did you call me... Grimmjow?" _he asks, sounding very much like he is grinning from ear to ear. Hrm, did I call him by his given name? Perhaps I did, I wasn't aware. _"It's a first. That calls for a celebration!"_

"Did you _hear_ what I was telling you?" I wave my free hand desperately up and down like a flapping penguin, forgetting momentarily that he can't see that through the phone. "They force-recruited me into a band!"

_"Heard ya loud an' clear, pup. Try not to yell my ears off - I intend to use them at your performance." _He laughed. Not mocking, but warm and reassuring, making my heart flip. Why is it that he can make me feel this way without much effort? _"What so terrible about this?"_

"Uhm... I can't sing? And... And I'm... afraid of the other members." Pathetic. "Besides, I don't fit in!"

_"Bah! You can do it, pup! You can do anything."_ I can? _"Imagine the feeling of watching their faces when you walk onto that stage. You'll show them."_

"I... suppose you are right." I do want to prove myself in front of everybody. Show them what they ignored for so long. Prove to them that I never gave up, I continued to grow even without them. Mizuiro... Ichigo... Tatsuki and Orihime. All of them. If I do this they can't ignore me. They have to look at me, listen to me, really _see_ me. Isn't that what I've wanted all along? For them to notice me?

_"Uhm, Keigo?" _His uncertain tone takes me by surprise, causing me to almost walk into another door - one that was open to begin with, one I had been carefully watching up until he spoke. To save myself from further embarrassment I rest my back against the wall behind the open door and slide down to a sitting position. _"I just... I wanted you to know that... I mean..."_ He sighs, angry with himself if I interpret it correctly. Waiting for him to continue my legs start to shake with anticipation. I don't understand. What am I anticipating? I feel so foolish. _"I guess I'm tryin' to say that you can always come to me if somethin's bothering you. I'll... help. In any way I can. I just... wanted you to know that."_

"I... I know." Why do I feel slightly disappointed? "Thank you."

_"By the way, are you gonna play any instrument in this band?"_

"I don't know. I hope not!" I can't play any instrument, not even to save my life! My teacher in music once told me I was useless, a natural talentless fool with no ear for tunes what so ever. I pray he was wrong, or I really will make a fool of myself. "I'm supposed to write the lyrics, though. And I only have a few months!"

_"Don't worry, just write your feelings. It'll come naturally once you've started."_

"How do you know?" I look for more than reassurance, I know that. I just can't admit it.

_"We sort of had a band in high school too. I wrote maybe five songs. Believe it or not but Nnoitra wrote the best lyrics."_ Wow, couldn't have guessed. Grimmjow surely has done a lot of things; he is so much more experienced than me. _"You going to the bookstore after school?"_

"Yes. Maybe I can get some writing done there. I should get inspiration around all those written words, right." Ugh, boring...

_"Well, I though I'd pick ya up. Ya'know, after you've finished." _He's hesitant. I know why he's offering.

"I'm really okay, you know." I smile. I must have used up my life's luck in befriending Grimmjow.

_"I know. But, you know, I'm free tonight, an' I kinda wanna spend my free time with you, pup. Ya mind?" _I love how he tries to conceal nervousness with attitude and shortened words.

"No. I don't mind. I get off at seven."

_"I'll be there. See ya later, pup."_

"Yeah, see you later. Grimmjow."

* * *

"The way you say my name makes me love it just a little bit more." Grimmjow was sitting by one side of the bed, arms folded under his chin and resting atop the covers, and he had a huge grin plastered on his face. Electric blue eyes stared into brown freckled with green; in the low light of the room his eyes really did look electric. "Say it again."

"No! Stop doing that!" Keigo sat on the opposite side of the bed, nervously picking on the covers and trying to avoid those flashing eyes in front of him. He'd paid a crucial price for his error, and now he had been saying _'Grimmjow'_ probably a hundred times in the past hour; he was already growing sick of it. He prefered _'Jaegerjaquez'_ anyway. But the bluehaired man refused to let him return to that. "Why are you torturing me like this?"

"Coz' I love to see you wriggle and writhe," was the simple mirthful answer. However, picking on the puppy is only fun for so long. He decided to change the subject for a while. "So who are these guys you're gonna be singing with?"

"The scariest ever!" Keigo squeaked, throwing his hands up in the air. "They're fighters! And they have tattoos!"

"I have a tattoo," Grimmjow pointed out. "Does that make me scary?"

"...No." Calming down from his high, Keigo considered this fact. Tattoos according to him was the symbol of the yakuza, and he knew that both Shiro and Renji were fighters. But perhaps they weren't yakuza... Karakura's mafia, perhaps. Was there any reason why he should fear them? Had they ever done him any harm? In fact, they never even bothered him in school, had no reason to start to ignore him because they never paid him any attention to begin with. The only ones who had hurt Keigo was his friends. Strange how he always seems to assume the worst in people, and blindly trust those who call themselves his friends... Speaking of which... "Grimmjow, have you ever betrayed a friendship?"

"Depends on how you mean."

"Started to ignore the person, told someone your friend's secret, embarrassed them in front of a lot of people?"

"I always embarrass my friends in any way I can, but only because I know they don't mind. I wouldn't embarrass you if I thought It'd hurt you." He gave the question some thought before continuing his reply. "I suppose I've betayed a friendship by falling in love. Twice, actually." He stared into Keigo's attentive eyes, making sure he was listening. "It's a fine line between friendship and love." Keigo, ever the oblivious one, was too hung up on the part about 'betrayal' to notice any indications from his bluehaired friend; though he did get sidetracked.

"When did you find out you were bisexual?" He noted the slight jerk in Grimmjow's body, perhaps an uncomfortable wriggle, shock. But seeing as Keigo didn't know any other person (besides Chizuru) whom had admitted to fall for the same sex he was extremely curious.

"When?" Grimmjow shrugged. "Just knew I did. There was this guy back in Belgium before I moved here," he began slowly, eyes never straying from Keigo's. "He was much older than me, in his early twenties when I was still in primary school; I think I was eleven. I was obsessed with him. He was the coolest guy, working in this café close by my house. He used to give me free cookies and a cup of coffee every time I came in. It was a silly, childish crush. I realized this when I started praying he'd give me more than just cookies. Of course he never did." Grimmjow grinned. "So my first man-crush was this pathetic story - a kid falling for the guy at the café. After that I started to feel around, trying to find myself in the turmoil of emotions every teenager ends up in. And in the end I did find myself."

"But... How did you know you were in love with him?"

"How?" Difficult question. "I just did. You know, when you start to imagine that person sitting next to you in your room, reading books or just talking to you. When you imagine how he would look when he's cooking, how it would taste, if he wash his dishes straight after dinner or if he wait to the next day. You'll know for sure when you start to undress him with your eyes, or imagine him taking a shower, or doing things. There's no question about it then."

"If... If you dream of kissing someone?" Keigo swallowed thickly, sweating all over.

"Dreams?" This tweaked Grimmjow's interest. "Well, dreams have a funny way of playing tricks on you. It doesn't necessarily mean anything. Day-dreams tends to tell you something, though." There was definitely something the brunette was hiding here. "You had dreams about someone?"

"_No!_ No, I just... It was only a question!"

"Defensive, are ya." He let the subject drop there. "Anyway, I was wondering if you'd like to make a New Year special with me? Szayel wants to take some photos."

"Oh." Szayel and photos sure put 'love' right out of Keigo's mind. "Uhm, sure. So long as I find time from the bookstore and schoolwork, and now this band."

"There will be time," Grimmjow assured. "Speaking of New Year... Do you have any plans?"

"Plans? No... No, I don't think so." Feeling hopeful Keigo's eyes twinkled all of a sudden - his love for parties was beginning to come back.

"You're invited to our party, then. Well, to Ilforte and Szayel's party, to be more precise." Grinning madly he reached out and poked Keigo's arm. "You can invite a friend if you'd like."

A friend? At first Keigo thought this was some kind of a joke; all of his friends were Grimmjow and his gang of guys. But then a tuft of orange-brown flashed before his inner eye - Kon, of course. It wouldn't hurt to invite him, would it? After all, if he hadn't persuaded Keigo to go to that Christmas-party then the brunette would've missed it all. It would only be fair to return the favour.

"Okay, I will!"

"Good." Grimmjow arose and stretched like a cat whom had been lazying about for too long. In doing so his shirt ever so discretely showed off toned abs, which in turn caught Keigo's attention. Granted it wasn't the first time Keigo saw Grimmjow's fysique, but it was the first time he really got to think about it. Grimmjow noticed the silence and felt eyes upon him - glancing down he saw Keigo's eyes linger and of course he had to make a show of it. He stretched even further to reveal more, and he made sure the muscles were tense, flashing off part of the true strength behind them. "Like what you see, pup?"

"Huh?" Blushing madly Keigo immediately pretended that he didn't know what he was talking about, but the act wouldn't even fool a donkey. "I wasn't... I didn't... I..." Upon seing the blunette's mighty grin he gave up and sighed in defeat. "I just envy your body. I want muscles like that too."

"Really?" A little stunned by the admition Grimmjow relaxed from his stretch and spoke his thoughts aloud. "I could train you, perhaps?"

"You could?"

"Sure." Although, training the brunette might just be what would tip Grimmjow's patience to the brink. Only time would tell - a promise is a promise. "But I should get going now. We both have stuff to do tomorrow."

"Alright. I guess I should begin to write those lyrics..." Scratching the back of his head Keigo got up off the floor and followed Grimmjow to the front door. "Drive safely!" he said sternly, knowing the blunette would most likely speed his way home.

"Yeah yeah, I'll try," he grinned, putting his shoes on his feet. "I'll write the moment I get home if that'll make you feel better." He laughed as Keigo put out his tongue in mock disapproval of such comment. "Well," Grimmjow said, standing up. "I am expecting a hug before I go, though."

"A hug?" he shyly repeated. There was almsot always a hug involved, which under the circumstances felt slightly weird. "You hug all of your friends?" He knew he didn't, but when nervous the tongue seems to get a life of its own.

"If I attempted to hug Nnoitra I'd risk having my head chopped off." Without waiting for approval Grimmjow reached out and grabbed the brunette, crushing him in a fierce hug. "'Sides, I like getting hugs, so deal with it."

Now that there were no space left between them all nervousness disappeared and it felt natural. Keigo accepted the hug and returned it with equal power, deciding that this was normal between friends who enjoy each others company. It doesn't have to mean anything else.

* * *

**Next Day at School**

**Tuesday 23rd December**

_**Keigo's p.o.v.**_

Final day in school before the Holidays. Also the Emperor's birthday. I barely got any sleep last night, because I tried to write lyrics for this band I was forced into - _'trying'_ being the keyword here. It is basically impossible! I don't even know what kind of songs they expect of me! I guess I have to ask them... and I don't look forward to that. But first and foremost I am looking for Kon. Walking down the hallways to look for his classroom I stumble on a few of my so-called former friends - Ichigo and Rukia barely noticed walking straight into me, Ishida offered a curt wave of his hand, and Sado nodded in my general direction (who knows what he's looking at beneath all that hair). But all in all it was rather painless so far. Then...

"Uhm, Keigo-san?" I know that voice anywhere, and as much as I had waited and wished for it a few months ago it no longer had that effect on me. Before me stood Mizuiro, waiting for me in the hallway like he used to do when we were still friends. What was going on? "Hey, I've been waiting for you," he said with his usual ill-faked smile. "There's something I wanted to discuss with you."

"Oh?" What could that possibly be? I stopped beside him and waited, noted his tense stance and knew immediately that I wouldn't like what he had to say.

"...Do you still see them rude men?" How could he possible make it sound _more_ perverted? First of all he calls them rude, and secondly he calls them men... They aren't all that old! And to me they aren't rude - they're... saviours, in the strangest appearance imaginable.

"Yes."

"You shouldn't." His eyes meet mine sternly and I can tell he means what he is saying. "You don't know what they want from you. And they looked pretty shady to me. You can find so much better people to hang around with, Keigo. Don't hurt yourself by trying to fit in with those gangsters."

... Speechless. What can I say to that?

"Promise me you won't see them again." In my confusion I nod my agreement and Mizuiro's fake smile returns in full force. "Good. I knew you would see reason." With a nod and goodbye he left me standing there like a fish without water, opening and closing my mouth with no sound coming out.

Then the anger hit me. Who is he to tell me who I can and cannot see? _He_ who _abandoned _me! I was always there for him when he was the outsider, the strange anti-social kid in grade-school. I gave him time to adjust and he opened up to me. And what was my reward? A door shut in my face, figuratively speaking. I wanted to rush after him and tell him to stay out of my business, but my fish-imitation was still running on slow-motion and I couldn't get my head together. Hearing him say that only made me more determined to be with Grimmjow.

Some of Grimmjow's temper must've rubbed off on me, I do get more easily upset these days. And perhaps that is a good thing, I've always been too easy-going with everything, accepting when people tells me that I'm lousy or tells me what to do. I complained, sure, but I never got angry. Today I got angry with Mizuiro, and it's an anger I think he deserves. I've got to remember to thank Grimmjow for that, giving me this extra boost to actually feel for myself what it is I really want. I don't want to be seen as the comedy-relief anymore, nor be seen as the stupid guy in class, the geek everyone can throw insults at and get away with it. I am _me_, Asano Keigo, and I deserve to be respected as a fellow human being with a mind and feelings of my own! Having come to terms with that, I finally break out of my stupor and continue to search for Kon. I eventually find him in his homeroom, drooling over a girl. I haven't seen her before, she must be new in class. She is kind of cute, I guess. Chin-long dark hair, large purplish eyes, a sad yet sweet expression on her face, small, thin body and not one of those vulgar and overly developed females. Yes, I can see why Kon would be fawning over her. He doesn't even notice me when I enter the room, and neither is he bothered by the fact that the girl isn't paying him any attention at all.

"Hello Kon," I greet, repeating it twice before he finaly realize that I'm here.

"Oh, Keigo!" He smiled in a friendly manner. "Have you met Nozomi? Nozomi, this is Keigo."

"Uhm, hello," I say, to which I recieve a curt nod of acknowledgement. "So, Kon, I wanted to invite you to a New Year's party! If you don't have any plans already, that is."

"A party?" His eyes sparkle; he seems to be interested in the offer. "Sure! Will there be girls?"

"...I guess. I don't know, it's not _my_ party. But it's never boring!"

"Oh?" He seems to regard me with curiosity. "Is it that guy with blue hair? Is it his party?"

"No, it's one of his friends'." Why does he look at me like that? Like he knows something I don't. It's really unnerving!

"Well, alright, I'll come!" He grins at me and thumbs up, and I feel so relieved. Maybe I have gained a new friend among the old acquantances.

"Oh my god!" someone squeaked behind us, causing all three of us in the room to jump. We all simultaneously turned to see a girl with long blonde hair rush into the room, holding a magazine in her hands. "Is this really you on this picture?" Her large green eyes were glued on me and I was dead-sure she had the wrong guy. "I can't believe it! You go to my school! That's awesome!"

Kon was equally confused but had enough sanity left to grab the magazine. His face morphed from confusion to shock, then to mirth - I had yet to see the picture itself.

"Kinda hot, man."

"What?" I grab the magazine from him, stare at the page with eyes wide as pizza-plates. Then it all went dark...

* * *

**A/N:**

_Don't forget to add creative feedback! :D It is mighty appreciated, both good and bad._

_I apologize to those reviewers that I have not replied to - thank you all for reviewing!_

_Check in on DA (Deviant ART) at __**Kitsune-rage **__profile - the Groups for Kei/Grimm always (well, mostly) accept membership and art ^^_

_/Namantos_


	20. Chapter 20

_**HAPPY NEW YEAR!**_

**I have been writing this chapter all day long, actually written most of it today! And more ideas keep jumping into my mind! I never seemed to get it finished!**

**That's why I decided to part this chapter in two, posting this half today and finish the other in the following days. So I apologize for parting it in half, but I was desperate to get an update for you today! And instead of pushing everything into a mess into the chapter, this was the best option.**

**You will get the Christmas chapter today, on New Years Eve, but I will try to update the New Year chapter as soon as possible - hopefully in a few days from now!**

**I hope you will enjoy this chapter none the less!**

**Again - Happy 2012!**

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**December 23 Tuesday**

_We may regard the present state of the universe as the effect of its past and the cause of its future. An intellect which at a certain moment would know all forces that set nature in motion, and all positions of all items of which nature is composed, if this intellect were also vast enough to submit these data to analysis, it would embrace in a single formula the movements of the greatest bodies of the universe and those of the tiniest atom; for such an intellect nothing would be uncertain and the future just like the past would be present before its eyes. _

—_Pierre Simon Laplace, A Philosophical Essay on Probabilities_

**:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::**

I was fighting to reach the sounds that surrounded me, but it was all in a daze, as if it was etheral, and I couldn't determine in which direction I should be heading. Not that it mattered much, because it was pitch black, and even if I located the direction of the voices I most likely wouldn't have found them. Come to think of it, why is it dark? What happened?

Suddenly a blinding light bombards my eyes, and desperate voices calls my name. At least one voice is desperate, the other is more annoyed. Do I know these people? The first thing I see when the world stops blotching before my eyes is a blonde girl with huge green eyes; she's the screaming one. What is she screaming? _'Don't die, Keigo! Please, don't die!'_ Kind of sweet, actually. Next thing I see is the quiet girl, staring down at me from he seat; she doesn't look concerned, mostly bored and slightly confused, but at least she looks at me. Nozomi, right? I think that was the name. And finally I catch sight of the more annoyed person, the male in the room; Ichigo? No, it's Kon, of course. And he's wafting a magazine to give me air, a frown on his face and... The magazine is the evil device that made my world go black! And... and Szayel is the culprit! Oh lord, what have I gotten myself into?

"Keigo, you live!" the blonde screamed excitedly, hugging my neck and nearly choking me to death instead - I think I prefer the darkness from this kind of dying. Just as suddenly as she had hugged me she let go - my head hit the floor a little harder than was good for me, but at least I remained conscious. "I have got to go tell my friends! We have a famous model on our school!" She grabbed the magazine from Kon's hands and ran out of the classroom, leaving us staring after her in great confusion.

"Crazy," Kon commented before turning his attention back to me. "So, you're a model. Who'd have guessed!"

"I ony did it once!" Or was it twice? Ah, who cares! Point being, Szayel hadn't told me he'd use my pictures in a magazine!

_**::::::::::::::::::**_

_**FLASHBACK**_

_**:::::::::::::::::::**_

_"Oh, by the way... We'll need to discuss what you'll let me do with these pictures," Szayel said to me, but I was too embarrassed about having been exposed and ridiculed myself in front of the camera, __**and**__ too freaked out to watch my own puppy-eyes form on the pink, perverted photographer to fully register the question._

_"Uhm..." Knowing nothing about what the pink puppy-look-alike meant, I just shrugged. "Just, do as you please."_

_"Excellent!" I would've heard how sinister that sounded if it hadn't been for Grimmjow's nudge on my arm; his touch completely threw me off track._

_"Hn, you have no idea what you just agreed to, do you?" The serious words were lost on me, because all I could see was Grimmjow's grinning face._

_**::::::::::::::::::**_

_**END FLASHBACK**_

_**:::::::::::::::::::**_

Oh... That's right. I _did_ tell Szayel he could to what he wanted with the pictures of me. I guess I just assumed that he wouldn't be using them at all. Guess I have myself to blame... But did he have to publish _that_ picture? It repeatedly flash before my eyes - black shirt, white jeans, black boots, I'm sitting on a chair with my legs spread, one arm hanging freely while the other is raised up behind my head to hold the weight of me and the chair against the wall, and I bite on the ace of spades card. It's taken from my front so I basically show off everything! Oh my god, it's embarrassing! And I think I promised Grimmjow I'd do one more photage... When will this end?

"Think I'm gonna have to go out and buy that magazine," Kon suddenly announced, breaking me out of my misery.

"W-what?" What did he just say? He's gonna _buy_ the magazine? "Why?" I just stare at him as he scratch the back of his head sheepishly.

"Well, it's not every day you find out that one of your friends is a famous model." He grinned and gave me a thumbs up. "You could make a fortune out of it!"

"... I'll just ignore that comment." Seriously? Was that a comment? To _me?_ I can feel how I'm blushing. Kon was the last person I'd expect to hear that from - Grimmjow, absolutely; Szayel, probably; but Kon is the ultimate boobs-obsessed teenager who stare at any girl and woman passing by - he most likely hits on all of them too. That he would give _me_ a comment, insinuating that I make a good model, was pretty low on my list of possibilities. Just as I was about to say something to change the subject from my rather embarrassing discovery, my phone started playing. Picking it up I read 'Grimmjow' as the caller. "Hello Grimmjow! Hey, why didn't yo-"

_"Yo, pup! Great photo of you in the mag, I've been drooling since this morning." _I blink stupidly, questioning if he was serious or not. Nothing surprises me anymore, I half expect him to say cheesy things like that. _"Hope I ain't botherin' ya in class. Just called to ask if you're free after school today."_

"Uhm, yes." I was indeed free from working in the bookstore today, seeing as it closes early today. "But why?"

_"Szayel wanna take those holiday-shots today. 'S okay if we pick ya up after school then?" _... I should've known.

"... Alright." I guess there is no way out of this, is there? I did make a promise. "But I have my bike here, and I don't want to leave it at school. Maybe I should go home first?"

_"Nah, we'll bring it along!"_ Not Grimmjow's car, then. _"'Course, if ya wanna stay the night ya might need some clothes. Seeing as it's the holidays, with x-mas on our doorstep, I thought ya might wanna go home."_

"I... I should go home, yes." Not that I had anything planned, but just in case my parents got home I should prepare some food and cakes. That reminds me, we haven't really decorated our home... If mom had been home she would've taken care of it, but with only me and Mizuho it never got done. She's probably going to go out with some guy anyway, I most likely will be home alone. Either way, I shouldn't intrude on Grimmjow's hospitality. "I'm off at three."

_"Kay, we'll be there."_ There was a long silence on the line, but I sensed that he still had something to say. I glanced at Kon, whom was now trying to charm Nozomi - unsuccessfully. I wonder if today's photographing will be equally embarrassing as last time, and equally complicated. _"Uhm, Keigo..."_ he whispered out after a long silence, so low I could barely hear him. _"See ya later."_

"Y-yeah." That's all? "See you later." He ended the call, leaving me slightly confused. Shrugging it off I put the phone back in my pocket.

"Who was that, your boyfriend?"

"W-what?" Boyfriend?

"Relax!" Kon laughed. "I'm only messing with you." He patted my shoulder in a friendly manner. "Don't be so jumpy, people might get the wrong idea." Wrong idea? "Every time that friend of yours is mentioned you go all stiff and defensive. Like you like him, or something."

"O-of course I like him, he's my friend!"

"See?" he grinned wider. "Stiff and defensive. Well, it doesn't matter to me either way." The school-bell rang. "Looks like our next class is about to start."

"Yeah. I better go."

**:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::**

"Yo!" Keigo twitched as an arm pressed down on his shoulders, and he saw pale flesh and nails painted black. He had been putting his books inside his locker when this occured, school has ended and he was in deep thoughts regarding the photo-shoot he was to partake in today. Without looking he already knew who it was, but he still shifted his head to the side, catching sight of the pale apricot that made out one third of the famous triplets, and leaning against the lockers next to him stood the red pineapple. "Written 'ny lyrics yet?"

"S-Sh-Shiro!" Keigo stammered out. "Re-Renji!" He still couldn't phatom why they would even consider him in their band, even less want to be seen with him on school ground, or anywhere else for that matter. "I-I-I haven't really... I mean, I wrote something the other night, but..." He swallowed thickly. "I don't know if it's what you expect!"

"Doesn't matter," Renji said matter-of-factly. "We're not gonna tour the world, only do a show for the school. Don't have to be first-class lyrics, you know."

"Mm, but'll be great if ya made 'em first-classed 'nyway!"

"No pressure," Renji added. "Seriously, as long as it's playable and singable."

"Uhm, any particular type of music I should try to-"

"Nope. We're pretty adaptable."

"Yeah." Shiro let go of Keigo and waited for him to close his locker before once more laying his arm over the brunettes shoulder, leading him towards the exit. "I'mma write a song too. Kensei said we need 'least five songs ta pass."

"More is a great plus," Renji added, walking on the other side of Keigo.

For Keigo, walking beside these two through the building, with eyes watching them from all directions, was a huge deal. Shiro and Renji seemed oblivious to these stares, but Keigo was aware. He custioned if he was 'in their company' as much as he was 'being walked', but for now he would settle with anything as long as he wasn't ignored. Funny how the world can swallow you up, keep you locked away and in solitude for so long, and then just spit you right back out there, and hurl everything your way - friends, photos, magazines, music, parties. It can be quite overwhelming, to the point where you are certain that is has to be a dream, that you will wake up any moment now to the time when you were a nobody, ignored and useless. But after all this time, Keigo dared to believe that all of this couldn't be a dream. Grimmjow couldn't be a dream. So long as he isn't completely alone, as long as there is at least one person out there, he will survive and be happy.

"By the way," Shiro added. "Ya know how'ta play an instrument?"

"N-no!" This was what he had feared. That they not only expected him to write the lyrics and sing, but also play an instrument!

"Hrm, there's time still. We'll teach ya!"

They would teach him... When had his world turned upside-down? When he met with Grimmjow. What was it about Grimmjow that made Keigo slightly more... popular even at school?

"Ooh, we gotta do famous songs too!" Shiro explaimed quite loudly; Keigo crinched at the volume, since it was directed straight into his ear. "Jus' two or three, but it'll make 'em listen!"

"Good idea," Renji agreed. "We each choose one song?"

"Yeah! Only fair. Hear that, Kei-chan?" Shiro leaned in so close to Keigo's cheek the brunette thought he might be kissed. He visibly gulped, to which Shiro barked out a laugh before returning some personal space to the smaller lad. "If we dun score 100% on this project, I'll skydive down a plane! I swear!"

"Gyah! Don't put any more pressure on me!" Keigo begged, dropping to his knees. Both Shiro and Renji stopped and stared at him in disbelief, most likely thinking he's insane, but Keigo didn't care. "You don't even know how I sing yet! And you expect me to learn how to play an instrument in only four months! This could turn into a disaster, and it will all be my fault!" Strong hands suddenly gripped his shoulders, pulling him to his feet. "Huh?" It was Renji.

"Relax. Shiro said he heard you sing, it'll be fine. Trust me." He patted Keigo's shoulder reassuringly. "And if it _does_ turn into a disaster..." He grinned, matching Shiro's crazy expression. "We'll _all_ skydive off a plane."

"No! Never!" But beneath his terrified and defiant exterior, Keigo was smiling bright as a sunbeam, so happy that he was allowed into this 'trio'. Even if it was all talk, it mattered so much to Keigo that he was accepted.

"We'll see," Renji smiled.

Just as they rounded the corner and Renji opened the exit-door, Keigo stumbled into the chest of another man - thankfully; had it been a girl he would've never survived the following seconds. Mumbling excuses and bowing his head, Keigo felt like such a fool. Of course he would have to ruin the moment by being a klutz. Renji and Shiro would laugh, think he's a fool, tell everyone who he crashed into, and-

"Kei-kun, just who I was looking for."

"Huh?" Keigo stared into a face with soft-looking skin, a mocha eye and a torquoise tattoo on the cheek beneath a black eye-patch, and blonde/brown hair atop the head. He was dressed in a green shirt and black trousers, white sneakers on his feet. And his lips was upturned in a pleasant smile. It took quite a few seconds before Keigo realized who it was. "Tesla!"

"The one and only."

"What... What are you doing here?" Keigo had forgotten that he was supposed to be picked up by someone, and that he didn't know who it would be. He glanced at Shiro and Renji, whom had stopped close by to watch the outcome of Keigo's accident-prone nature, but seeing that it had settled down they waved their goodbye and kept walking.

"We are here to pick you up. Didn't Grimmjow tell you?"

"_'We'_?"

"Yes. Nnoitra and I." Tesla fisted his hand loosely and gave a friendly punch on Keigo's shoulder, smiling slightly. "Grimmjow would have come to pick you up, but Szayel had decided to start early on his transformation." He peaked over Keigo's shoulder and made a slightly confused expression. Keigo shifted, wondering what made him look like that, and found Mizuiro standing behind him, glaring.

"Mi-Mizuiro!" He was once again reminded of his 'promise' not to see Grimmjow and his friends again. Anger began to boil inside of him as he saw Mizuiro, but he gave a smile instead of letting it show. "Something wrong?"

"No, nothing." That fake smile again. "Thought I would remind you of what we spoke of earlier."

"Yes, I remember." Keigo turned back towards Tesla and motioned for him to start to walk.

"So, you are going home now?" Mizuiro continued, using his most convincing voice.

"I said I remembered." Keigo's voice changed to a deep, serious voice he rarely ever used towards anyone at school. His eyes locked with a confused pair; for once he felt like he was in control. "I will have to break that promise, because I don't feel like being alone." With that he stalked towards his bike, followed closely by Tesla. Keigo knew that this must be confusing for the blonde older male, and he didn't feel like discussing it right now. He was jsut about to unlock his bike when someone got up beside him. He glanced sideways and found Ishida, Ichigo and Rukia. "Uhm... Hi?" They hadn't approached him for the past year, why would they suddenly... Aha, Mizuiro.

"We have to agree with Mizuiro," Ishida gave his two scents, pushing his glasses further up his nose. "The current company you keep most sertainly is not good for you."

"They might be perverts," Rukia piped in, staring at Tesla, whom by now stood to the side, bemused.

"Even my brother," Ichigo frowned. "You know, Shiro isn't safe. You ought to be careful."

"We only wants what's best for you," Mizuiro added, now standing next to Ishida.

"Best for me?" Enough is enough, and Keigo's cup was full. His glare pierced all four of his former friends. Not surprisingly, this was the first time they had ever seen him angry. Normally he would just burst into childish tears and in the end give in and just to as he was told. But not anymore. "What's best for me is to sit at home all day long, wondering when anyone will call or pay a visit? What's best for me is to be ignored by my _friends_?" Ishida looked away then, obviously feeling guilty. "Is it really from the bottom of your hearts when you tell me I can't have any friends?" Anger boiled inside of him, his face felt hot and he was shaking. "How dare you come here and tell me to go home!"

"There are others you could make friends with," Rukia insisted. "People your own age."

"It's none of your business!" Keigo shouted. "You aren't my friends anymore. You don't get a say on who I hang out with."

"Keigo!" Ichigo made to advance, to grab Keigo or just to convince him in some other way, but Tesla stepped in between, standing just as tall as Ichigo, meeting his fuming eyes with a calm one of his own. "Get out of my way!"

"Calm down, brat."

Keigo felt relieved to be defended by Tesla. It felt great to have someone else risk their own safety for him, even though he didn't want Tesla to get hurt. A small smile slipped onto his face, watching the internal fight for dominance between the two males before him.

"Ichigo, let's just drop it." That was Ishida, pulling Ichigo back and breaking the tense moment. "Let's go."

Keigo took this opportunity to get his bike free and began walking, pulling lightly on Tesla's shirt to signal he was leaving. Tesla gave the four students a look of warning before turning around to follow Keigo, walking beside him in silence. There was no need to elaborate on what had happened, it was rather obvious. However, Telsa could see how much it was bothering Keigo.

"You know, we _are_ your friends." He felt he had to declare it for the brunette. "All of us."

"I know," Keigo nodded weakly. "But it still hurts when my former friends does things like this."

"I guess so." Tesla knew not to push - if Keigo needed to talk then he would listen. "What happened?" he asked casiously, to which Keigo simply shrugged. He decided to let it drop. "Well, come on. I'll lead you to the car." He halted when Keigo sniggered. "What?"

"You called Ichigo a brat."

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_**at Szayel's Studio**_

**::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::**

_**Keigo p.o.v.**_

_**:::::::::::::**_

Oh. My. God.

He is by far _the _most attractive man I have _ever_ seen! And I'm not even gay! Imagine how the gay-population must feel when they come across him on the streets! They must be swooning, reduced to drooling _dogs_ ogling a large, juicy... bone - I gotta stop imagining these things! Gah, what is wrong with me! But come on, he _is_ hot, no one can argue that. He is radiating dominance, extremely manly, yet still with a soft side, with a beauty only a woman could match. The man of men, making most females jealous and all men... Well, I don't know, but he is gorgeous! Wild hair on top, cascading down his shoulders. His face, perfect in shape, with large, electric eyes that could swallow you whole, and always that enticing grin on his lips. Then there's the biceps. Man, he is strong. He can appear to be quite a lazy person, often sprawling out on his couch, draping himself around his friends, just taking it cool most of the time - and then he suddenly spurts into action, with speed and agility, almost like a cat. He is so... athletic, I suppose. And I have seen his abs, they are quite impressive aswell. He is hiding them right now, though, beneath a loose-fitting beige/brown t-shirt. He also wears a pair of very short shorts - almost like boxers if you ask me! - in a darker brown colour, showing off his strong legs. And just beneath his knees, a fluffy pair of... shoes... going from white to brown and on to black at the bottom, making it look like hooves. On his hands he wore black gloves, and he is holding a pair of horns, much like those of a raindeer, only greyish/silvery. I just glance across his muscular body, feeling... jealous, I guess. Of course I want to look like him! I want to _be_ just like him!

"Here you go, your outfit." Huh? Why does Szayel shove these clothes in my arms? Oh... The photoshoot. Damnit. "Follow Nnoi and Tes into the changing-room, get dressed, then get back out here. Pronto. We don't have all day."

Reluctantly I follow Nnoitra and Tesla into a small side-room I've never seen before - last time they had me changing right in front of them! Once I enter the small room I am met by a mirror, and guess what... I've been drooling. How embarrassing! Did they see it? Did _Grimmjow_ see it? Quickly drying it off with my sleeve, I notice how small the room is. There is barely room for two in there, and we are _three_. They are already busy changing, so I make myself busy aswell, standing with my back towards them. That's when I see my outfit and blanch.

"Santa," I mumble. "In tights!" Sweatdrop.

"Heh, yeah, Szayel's got some nasty imagination, dude." Nnoitra was sniggering. "You think _ya've _got it bad, just take a look at _us_."

I did just that. I turned around, and I feared for my eyes - they were about to drop out of its sockets; at least it felt that way. Nnoitra was standing there, topless, with a pair of tight, shiny green pants, hich to the knee black elf-shoes, and a green santa-like hat - his eye-patch has been exchanged for a green one, with red edges. And that was it. His chest is... lithered with piercings, I notice, and he is quite fit; albeit more slender in built compared to Grimmjow.

Similarly is Tesla dressed. Topless with a "hay-scarf" draped across his shoulders, kept together by a red cord at the front. On his head there are horns arching backwards and pointing downwards. He has removed his eye-patch and reveals his other mocha eye for the first time beore me - I almost thought he didn't have an eye! And for the rest of him... Red shoes with a small heel, and a simple red loincloth - I hope he is wearing anything beneath it!

"Okay," I choke out, turning away again as my cheeks are tinted red out of embarrassment. "I was the lucky one!"

"Damn right ya are!" Nnoitra doesn't sound pelased at all, but at least he isn't refusing to comply with Szayels ridiculous ideas.

"We will head out to get out make-up done," Tesla informed. "Get dressed as soon as possible."

Finally alone. Finally able to get changed into this... Santa costume in private. But... Why haven't I gotten a beard?...

**:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::**

Uncomfortable. _Extremely embarrassing!_ Yet I find myself feeling lucky with my outfit. Perhaps the most unlucky one had been Ilforte, whom had been dressed up in a white dress with a red ribbon around his waist, and held a candle in his hand. He had been supposed to wear a crown with candles, but he had refused and threatened to leave if Szayel pushed the subject. So in the end he didn't have to wear the crown. He did make a great Lucia, though. Hrm, I didn't know she was a man in disguise. Heheh, Szayel truly is mean towards his brother!

The shots we have taken so far has been fun. Nnoitra, being assigned as Santa's Helper - an elf, to say the least - has to carry my santa-bag. It looks heavy, but it's only filled with rags and a few boxes to make it look believable. I actually had to take a very embarrassing shot with him, where he is carrying me with his free arm - he is strong! It must've looked really silly! So now it's time for our final shots, and Szayel has a very nasty grin on his face. Should I run now?

"Time for the last couple of shots, guys!" he called out with so much joy in his voice, everyone crinched. "Tesla, think you can carry my darling brother?"

"Uhm, sure."

"Excellent! The Yule Goat carrying Saint Lucia will make a great new twist!" He then turned to me and Grimmjow. "Kei-kun, Santa is supposed to be riding a sleigh pulled by raindeers, but we only seem to have one raindeer. So, you will ride Grimmjow's back!"

"I will... _what?_" If that wouldn't be ambarrassing, I don't know what would be.

"Indeed, you will get a piggyback ride by Grimmjow." He went on to ignore my baffled expression and turned instead to Nnoitra. "You are a giant among elves, so I bet you can pose without being carried by anyone. So I want you beneath that Christmas tree over there. Pretend to be decorating it, or handing out gifts. Just make it look real."

"Plah! Can't I just nick a few gifts? Or eat some candy?" But he complied, walking over to the tree and plomped down on his behind, stretching out.

"One group-photo, then I want some single-shots!"

Tesla was already holding Ilforte, bridal-style, when I neared Grimmjow. I gulp when he grins, because I still think I might drool again if I look at him for too long. No way out, I guess. He bends down to his knees and I circle my arms around his neck to link them at his front, his arms lifts up my legs and then I'm his. I mean, he's now holding me. Giving me piggybackride. Sigh, this is ridiculous...

If I thought that was embarrassing, I hadn't experienced the worst yet. When the group-shot was done, they had Grimmjow crawl on all four, with me sitting on his back. Dread! Sure, it was fun, I haven't laughed this much for a while. Well, then Grimmjow decided to make a surprise-drop, pretending to be dead, and I was just sitting there, stunned. The flashes kept shining, which meant that Szayel kept taking photos. Everyone around us were laughing, and I just didn't know what to do. Then he just gets up, spind around, causing me to fall on my back, and when i open my eyes he is standing above me on all four, grinning.

"Rudolph goes to attack!" Nnoitra shouted, barking with laughter.

I did the only thing I could to, thinking that might be what one does to reprimand an animal. I pinched his nose, and his look was priceless.

"It's a wrap!" Szayel announced, pretty satisfied with himself and with out performance. Even Yumichika looks pleased. Grimmjow helps me to my feet, and I can't help but laugh. "I will now begin the editing and tomorrow the magazine should be done. You will al recieve a copy of it before it goes into the stores. Thank you all for participating, and you are free to go!"

Ilforte, careless of who saw, threw off the dress, stood there in nothing but his underwears, and stomped into a side-room to get dressed, I suppose. He doesn't appear as girly when he is naked as he does when he is clothed... Obviously! Stupid me, don't mind me - my mind is all in a blurr right now. I don't know where Grimmjow went, but I enter the same room as before, followed by Nnoitra and Tesla, and we change in silence. When we get back out again, Grimmjow is waiting for us, grinning.

"Well, that was fun," he comments. "How about we get something to eat? I'm starving!"

"Sounds good to me," Tesla admitted, well-timed with my stomach's growl in approval. "I take it you second that."

"I do!" I was hungrier than I thought, actually.

"Let's go, then!"

**::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::**

Nnotra was driving, Tesla sat at the front with him, and I sat between Ilforte and Grimmjow in the backseat. My earlier argument with Muzuiro, Ichigo and the others came back then, reminding me of everything I had said. I had missed out on all of this if I had gone home like they had told me to. I've never been so proud of myself as I was right now, for saying what I had to them and for doing what I had with Grimmjow and these guys. How could I possibly be happier?

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**December 24 Wednesday**

_**Christmas Eve**_

Keigo had been busy all day, decorating the house with christmas decoration - he and his family had always been somewhat european in tradition, so they had a small christmas tree in plastic with lots of glitter and light and red ribbons just to make it that much easier to put up every year. And then he had began to prepare food and cakes, mixing both european and japanese tradition. His sister helped to bake a bit, and she even helped a little bit with dinner. Their parents would get home in a few hours, just in time to eat. That's how it usually was around christmas.

Szayel had sent Keigo an email containing the online version of the magazine, and since then Keigo had walked around with a deep blush on his face. It embarrassed him a lot to be on photos like that, even though he wasn't doing anything embarrassing. He wrote "merry christmas" to most of his friends on the BrickWall Community, received back a similar greeting from most of them (he had befriended all of Grimmjow's friends by now, so his BrickWall wasn't empty anymore).

The day disappeared quickly, though, and when their parents got home it was already time to eat dinner. They asked a lot of questions, mostly about Keigo's work at the bookstore, and how Mizuho was doing with her new boyfriend. Other than that it was mostly silent. No gifts were given - they usually bought birthday presents instead of christmas and new years gifts.

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Grimmjow was celebrating Christmas at Nnoitra's - it was tradition, mostly because neither of them really celebrated it. They spent the day lazying about, drinking cider and watching TV. He had, of course, brought all of his cats - he wouldn't leave them at home, alone, on Christmas! Nnoitra was used to it, and the cats loved spending time at Nnoitra's small hovel, jumping on the old couch and playing with whatever they could find on the floor; there was always something. He even had a lither-box in reserve at his place, because he knew that Grimmjow might bring the cats. The white cat, Kishire, was stalking him like always, and Reaper was lurking around looking for things to attack. Meanwhile, Pantera had decided that Grimmjow's lap was the safest place to be, and firmly stayed there.

It was late in the evening when Grimmjow fell to the urge to pick up his phone and call. Although he had sent a text message earlier he couldn't sit there and watch the boring movie any longer. He glanced at Nnoitra, whom seemed more interested in bugging Kishire with a stick than paying attention to the movie. So, risking he might interrupt some family-tradition in the Asano-household, he promptly dialled his friend. It was agonizing to wait, and he nearly jumped out of the couch when he heard the happy _'Grimmjow!' _on the other end of the line. He grinned sheepishly.

"Yo, pup. Merry Christmas, I guess. What are you doin' over there?"

_"Merry Christmas to you too! We're not doing anything. I was doing the dishes when you called, so you saved me!"_ Grimmjow smiled at that, releaved to know that he hadn't interrupted anything and happy to finally hear his voice. _"What about you?"_

"Oh, I'm cuddling with Pantera. And Nnoi is about to get molested by Kishire if he doesn't stop poking her with that stick." Just as he said that, the white cat swiftly turned around and swatted the stick out of Nnoitra's hand - the tall male nearly had a heartattack. He sent a glare at Grimmjow, then a kowing look as if he knew exactly who the blunette had called and why. Then he picked up his own phone and made a call on his own - most likely to Tesla. "Reaper misses you," he added as an afterthought.

_"Aw, I miss Reaper too!"_ At the mention of its name, Reaper appeared on the couch next to Grimmjow, expecting to be patted behind the ear, purring loudly at Grimmjow's touch. _"Wish I could have a cat too. Or a dog. Or any animal! I just want to take care of something, feel useful."_

"Why don't you get one, then?"

_" I don't really know. I just don't want to mess it all up, you know! Like, what if I forget to feed it! Or if I feed it too much! It will get fat and roll around on the floor instead of stalking and prancing and... whatever it is they do!" _Grimmjow barked with laughter, disturbing the black cat on his lap, whom glared at him before settling its head down again. _"I'm serious!"_

"Trust me, Keigo, you learn." His face threatened to split in half if his grin grew any bigger, and he noted a slightly less prominent grin on his darkhaired companion. Nnoitra always got that thoughtful expression when speaking to Tesla, as if he didn't quite know which leg to stand on, was largely happy but still somewhat sad. "By the way... Are you free tomorrow?"

_"Christmas Day? Uhm... I guess."_

"Well, how about I come pick you up and we can roam around town, eat something and maybe go to my place? If you want, you can stay over." He ignored how his hand was shaking, disliking how childish he acted.

_"Alright! Can we rent a movie or something? Perhaps play our game? Maybe we can have popcorn and stay up all night and-"_

"Yes yes yes, we can do anything you want, just don't scream, pup." Despite his words, he was grinning from ear to ear.

_"Sorry!"_ But it was obvious that he wasn't really sorry for screaming; he was hyper-excited. _"When will you pick me up?"_

"Whenever you want, pup."

_"Hmm, how about after breakfast?"_

"Suits me just fine!" Actually, that was more like what he had in mind - well, the most preferrable had been to drive over and pick Keigo up right this moment, but after breakfast was fine. "Do I need to call before I start to drive?"

_"Nah, My parents are always up around six every morning, no matter what day it is. So you can come whenever you want! If I'm not awake, you can always wake me up."_

"Alright. Well, I'll see ya tomorrow, then, bright and early! Don't stay up too long, pup!"

_"I won't! See you tomorrow!"_

"Night." Ending the call with a goofy grin, he nearly - _nearly_ - gasped when Nnoitra was sniggering at him. "What?"

"Settin' a date with the mutt, huh. You got 'im lickin' yer finger yet?"

"Nnoi! No way! Definitely not! Why would you..." He sighed and shook his head. "I don't think he's interested in that way."

"Ya never know."

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Suddenly Keigo had a bounce in his step, skipping through the house and singing on a happy tune. His mother gave him a suspicious glance, though he didn't notice. He was looking forward to the next day, wishing that the current day would just end sooner so he could go out and enjoy himself with his best friend in the whole world. It had been maybe fifteen minutes since he had talked with Grimmjow on the phone, when he couldn't restrain his hand from reaching for his cellphone. He texted Grimmjow, writing something absolutely useless about a TV show his parents were watching - and he received a reply not even a minute later from Grimmjow, whom was watching the same show at Nnoitra's.

The world sure is a small place.

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**A/N:**

_**I hope you enjoyed it!**_

_**I hope there wasn't too many misspells and gramamtical errors - I just wanted it updated!**_

_**I will try to update as soon as possible!**_

_**RATE & REVIEW PLZ**_

_**Your opinions matters the most!**_

_**Namantos**_


	21. Chapter 21

**Hello again!**

Sorry for the lateness of this chapter, it was not agreeing with me as well as I thought it would!

Anyway, here it is! Chapter 21, the end of Christmas and the beginning of the New Year.

I've re-read it a couple of times, and I hope I've corrected most of my misspellings and errors, but I know I always miss something :P

**Thanks to everyone who has reviewed!**

I really appreciate all of the time you put down on reading this story, and I hope that this chapter won't be a disappointment!

**x***x**x**x**x**x****x***x**x**x**x**x****x***x**x**x**x**x****x***x**x**x**

**CHAPTER 21**

**x***x**x**x**x**x****x***x**x**x**x**x**

**December 25 Thursday**

**Christmas Day**

Is it morning already? Feels like I only just closed my eyes. Is there light coming in through the window? No, I have drapes to shut the light out. What's that sound? Sounds like a motor running, or an engine of some sorts. Must be the neighbours again; can't they sleep at normal hours? Ah, massage on my thigh, that feels good. Ouch, not needles, please! And it's so warm and cozy... Even the movements on my covers are lulling me back to sleep.

...

...

Hang on... Movements? Massage with needles? An engine?

...

My eyes fly open, and through my blurry vision I catch a glimpse of something large and white. _Hairy_. And it's staring right at me. What is-

"Gah!" I'm awake in an instance, sitting up and pulling the covers tighter around me. The furry things aren't scared and just stares at me as if I'm crazy - I might be, because how is this possible? Wait... A large white cat, a multi-coloured cat, and a black cat... They are awfully familiar. A laugh rings out in my room and I snap my head around to locate the sound. There, sitting on my desk-chair, was Grimmjow, doubled over with laughter. How did he get in here?

"You should've seen your face!" he laughs, clutching his sides.

"Grimmjow!" That's right, I told him to come pick me up this morning. I hadn't expected him to show up so early, though. "What time is it?"

"Nearly nine." He stands up and walks over to my bed, picking up the large white cat and holding her like a baby in his arms - she looked like she was enjoying it, purring loudly. "Your mother said it was fine to bring the cats inside, so here we are." His electric blue eyes met mine, and for a moment I blanched. I hadn't realized how much I had been looking forward to this morning until now, and it wasn't half-bad to be awoken to this.

"Nine... " I absently pat Reaper, scratching him behind the ear. "I thought it was still night."

"Well, it ain't." Grimmjow walked towards my window and flipped open the drapes. Bright light attacked my vision, blinding me momentarily. "And it snowed last night. Look."

Snow? I love snow! I'm on my feet within seconds, abandoning the warmth of my bed and the cuddly cats. I nearly cry of joy at the sight presented to me. White. It's all white! And it's still snowing! Brr, and it's cold! I slept in my boxers, and with the cold abusing my skin I shivered and my teeth were hacking. A warm arm circles my midriff, providing much desired warmth, which I gratefully lean further into. He truly is the best friend one could ever wish for.

"Cold, huh." His voice is low, almost in a purr like his cats. Amused, no doubt. "I suggest dressing warm, coz it's cold as fuck outside."

"Mhm." I smile, enjoying the moment. Until something tickles my bare chest and I can't stop to giggle. I look down and see the white cat, Kishire, shifting about on Grimmjow's free arm and in doing so her hair tickles against my skin. I pat her and she gives me a soft 'mjau' before jumping down on the floor. "How come you brought the cats?"

"Didn't wanna leave them at home on Christmas," Grimmjow admitted and circled his other arm around my midriff too, standing with his front to my side and resting his chin atop my head. It might appear as an intimate position for some, but for me, who isn't used to any kind of contact, it's comforting and reassuring. Of course, I could choose to think of it as intimate and perhaps an invasion of my private bubble, but if I was surrounded by a bubble I think I would let Grimmjow share that bubble. Does that sound crazy? I'm not... I'm not gay, I just... I'm not, right? "And I fell asleep at Nnoitra's. Thought we could drop 'em off before we hit the road again."

"I bet Nnoitra enjoyed having them at his house." I can just imagine his expression.

"Bah, he's a big softie! He likes them, but he'd never admit it." Grimmjow inhaled; I could feel his chest against my shoulder as it heaved. "Besides, the cats made it all the more fun. You should've seen when Kishire jumped into Nnoitra's arms! It was hilarious." I bet it was. I joined in the laughter, but found it hard to think about yesterday when I had a whole day of adventure ahead of me. Grimmjow seemed to read my mind. "Any requests for today?"

"Think I covered most of them on the phone last night," I smile, to which he chuckle. "You mind if I take a quick shower?"

"Nope, you go right ahead." He let go of me, and the cold of my room once more attacked.

"Have you eaten breakfast?" I was hungry.

"Yeah, I ate at Nnoi's just before coming here." He sat down on my bed and grabbed the manga I had been reading before going to sleep. "I'll make myself busy while you get ready."

"Alright." I don't know, something about seeing him lay down on my unmade bed with his three cats had me feeling all warm inside.

**x***x**x**x**x**x**

Taking a shower and eating took me about thirty minutes. I told my mother that I was going out with Grimmjow and that I wouldn't be home that evening - she gave me this strange look but said nothing of it. She did, however, sneak into my room and had a chat with Grimmjow, on that strange language I still don't know how my mother can speak. She, apparently, enjoyed talking with him, and she didn't seem to mind the cats, or that he was still lying on my unmade bed. My father, on the other hand, was a bit more sceptic; I could tell by the way he was ignoring Grimmjow and giving me a calculating look. They never acted this way with Mizuiro, so why now? What is different?

"Your sister will be going out with her boyfriend tonight," my mother informed me when I was putting on my winter-boots. "And your father invited me out for dinner. Just in case you get home and wonder where we are. Otherwise, we will see you tomorrow?"

"Uhm, yeah." That's embarrassing. Having a sleep-over with a friend at my age is just... bound to ask for expectations and questions, isn't it? "Have fun at dinner, mom!" I gave her a hug before putting on my jacket and picking up my bag in which I had some extra clothes and other stuff I would need.

"Here," Grimmjow said, handing me Reaper with a crooked smile. While I was trying to balance the cat and holding onto my bag, Grimmjow picked up Kishire and Pantera - the two cats effectively filled up his embrace. "You ready?" I nodded and he somehow managed to open the door. The coldness hit me , but I paid it no mind - I love snow, and if I hadn't had a cat in my arms I would have run out and played in it.

We packed the cats in the back, where they sat comfortably as if they knew the procedure by heart, and my bag became Reaper's bed for most part of the journey, and then I waved at my mother who was still standing in the doorway with a soft smile on her face. Thankfully Grimmjow drove more carefully today, seeing as the car slipped a few times before we got out of our street and onto the more traficked roads. We talked about everything and nothing, and I could not be any happier than I am right now. Well... Apparently I could. Because when we finally pull over outside of Grimmjow's apartment and I step outside, my hands immediately went down to scoop up some snow. My fingers are freezing, but who cares! I threw it... It sounded _'splash' _and someone spluttered wetly. I laughed.

"You little..." Grimmjow brushed the snow out of his face, his grin turned feral and his eyes twinkling with mischief. He scooped up snow and hit my jacked. Then... just as I was about to retaliate, he disapperad from the other side of the car, a _'whoop'_ emitting from his mouth.

"Huh?" Confused I ran to the other side of the car, finding Grimmjow on his ass on the snow, looking every bit like a goldfish in a bowl. I couldn't hold it back. My laughter seemed to rub off on him, thankfully, because he joined in. "Klutz!" I told him. Wow, first time I get to call someone a klutz!

"Fuck you, pup." His grin betrayed the malicious edge to his words. "Are you gonna help me up or what?"

**x***x**x**x**x**x**

The day was ours. We could do whatever we wanted. So, after having dropped off my bag and the cats, we hit the road again, driving to Kagamino City. We went into every shop that was open, bought ingredients for dinner we would later improvise, and also rented a movie of my choosing - I wanted to see the animated movie 'The Smurfs', so that's what we got! Grimmjow didn't mind my comment about his hair almost being the same colour as the smurfs, he only grinned. And he adored the small keychain I secretly bought for him while he was busy looking at one thing or another. It was a small chain with a light blue cat, soft to the touch and very cute. Girly, but he loved it. He immediately put his apartment-key in the keychain, so that he didn't have to look for the correct key for ten minutes next time. After that he insisted on buying something for me, and abruptly told me to wait while he returned into one of the stores - when he returned he told me he'd give it to me when we got back to his place.

We were out until noon, drank coffee at a café and ate lunch before deciding that it was time to head home. Snow kept falling and we were cold, but we still passed through the park before we returned to the car. There, in the park, we met Tesla and Nnoitra, both out for a walk in the nice weather, and this encounter delayed us for another hour. When we bid our farewell, I noticed Tesla tripping Nnoitra so that the huge man fell face first into a bank of snow, sputtering and cursing as he got to his feet again. Tesla laughed and ran off, chased by a snarling Nnoitra, until he caught up with the shorter man and they both slipped on an ice-patch and fell in a heap together. Was it luck that I was the only one so far that hadn't slipped on ice?

Back at his place, while I was warming my hands in hot water in his kitchen, I suddenly got this homely feeling settle in my chest. I felt like I belonged here. It was strange. My heart skipped and doubled its pace when hands landed on my shoulders. He always catch me by surprise, I should get used to it!

"Your gift," he mumbled, and his hands slid down the front of my throat then back again. I felt something cold, like a chain, rub gently against my neck and knew it to be a necklace. "There." His hands left me and I dried off on a towl before reaching to feel the chain. My eyes widened as I observed what I had been gifted. "You like it?"

"Like it?" I had wanted to buy this for myself but had been too afraid to do it because it wasn't really my style. Now that he had given it to me the embarrassment was blown away - not that I know exactly why it would have been embarrassing, but... "I love it! Thank you so much!" Gamer's Dog Tags. Silly, I know!

"Well then, Mr. Professional Gamer, are you ready to play?" Does he really need to ask?

**x***x**x**x**x**x**

My hand reached out on its own accord, swirling its fingers through a lock of blue hair. I had grown too relaxed, forgot my place, and blushed at my misstep. His head shifted, eyes meeting mine confidently and curiously. I gave the lock of hair a gently tug before letting it slide through my fingers.

"How long are you going to let it grow?" I ask.

"Til it annoys me." He pops some popcorn into his mouth. "Does it bother you?"

"No no." I let my hand drop back to the couch, wishing we had rented more movies - The Smurfs was funny, but it ended much too soon. During the evening I had become curious about certain things I had yet to give voice to, but now seemed a perfect time to vent. "Is it any different with a woman and a man?"

"Besides the obvious?"

"I mean..." I blush deeper. "When kissing. Does it taste different?"

"Hm, everyone tastes different." He tilts his head, glancing at me curiously. "Though I'm hardly the right person to ask. If you ask a straight guy he'd say it's disgusting and tastes bad to kiss another guy. Me, I like both equally much. A kiss is a kiss."

"So it doesn't feel funny?"

"Funny?" He laughs a little. "Nah, only if he's bearded. It tickles." He grows more serious. "Though I guess it makes it more interesting to some knowing how taboo it is to kiss someone of the same gender, even being gay or not. Why do you ask, are you curious?" He winks suggestively.

"N-no, I just..." Damnit. "Maybe. I don't know." I sigh, exasperated. "I just wish someone would be interested in me so I could know from personal experience!"

"Maybe there is someone who is interested." He pointed accusingly at me. "_You are bad _at reading signs, after all."

"So you keep telling me," I grumble. "Why don't you teach me how to read these signs then?"

"That would put me in an awkward position, ya'know." I didn't quite understand what he meant by that, but I let it slide and shrugged, accepting to remain a lonely geek for the rest of my nerdy life. "Don't pout. You'll figure it all out eventually, pup."

"Tell me about your relationships. Please?" I've been dying to find out what kind of men he likes.

"I guess I can do that." He shifts to sit more comfortably, raising his leg to rest it against the seat of the couch, slightly turned towards me. With his blue locks cascading down his shoulders I could almost think he is beautiful. Scratch that, he _is_ beautiful. "You've actually met two of my ex boyfriends." He smiled, probably at my expression. "Got my first boyfriend at 15, after I had moved here to Japan. None other than our very own diva - Ilforte."

"What?"

"Don't be so surprised, it's nothing weird about this at all." He scratched his head thoughtfully. "We never really did anything 'sides kissing and touching, and it didn't last too long. We were better friends than we were as a couple, and broke it off before it hurt our friendship." He reached forward to nudge my arm, breaking me out of my stupor. "After that I dated a girl. Atsuko, she had the most intense red hair you can imagine, it practically screamed for attention. And her eyes were bright green, a smile to kill for. We dated for a year, but we grew apart. Still talk to her once in a while, but she's got a kid and works a lot. I think you'd like her." His smile vanished. "I was 19 when I found my second boyfriend. I was stupid to get involved with him. He was thirty-something, and married. More interested in experimenting than in a relationship. Of course, I broke it off pretty quickly, but he didn't give up. Until he met my friends - he ran very fast and I haven't seen him since."

"He abused you?" I'm shaking, but I don't know if it's anger or something else that's causing it. I never thought Grimmjow would have had any problems with abusive men, I guess.

"Not physically, no. At least not more than I could return." His smile returned. "I was single about a year and a half or something like that, before I met with Shūhei. His girlfriend had died in childbirth after a tragic car-accident on the way to the hospital. He was broken, and I wanted to help him. Our relationship was more of a platonic kind, but we experimented some. I still haven't figured out if he's bisexual or straight. We called it off for safety-measures, but we're still friends as you've probably guessed."

So I've been driven home by one of his ex boyfriends? That feels... strange. And so very different people he has dated, I thought people went for similar personalities in a partner.

"Isn't it weird to be friends with someone you've had a relationship with? Doesn't it get confusing?"

"Nah. With both Ilforte and Shūhei, it was a mutual agreement that we're better off as friends. I wouldn't want to start anew with either of them. I don't know if I could remain friends with someone I still love, though; it would hurt too much. Don't get me wrong, I love my friends, but it's a different kind of love."

"You said it was for safety-measures you and Shūhei broke up. What do you mean?"

"You sure you wanna know?" I nodded and he sighed in acceptance, almost reluctant. "He was depressed after losing his girlfriend and best friend in that accident, and had the child to care for all by himself, and a job that demanded a lot of his time. He needed something to vent on, something to take out his frustration on. I was still trying to overcome my previous relationship, the mental part was hard to kill. I said 'platonic' relationship, but it more suits my relationship with Ilforte than with Shūhei. I shouldn't really get into details. Lets just keep it with that we needed to vent and it wasn't always as comfortable as it should have been." He looked a little guilty, as if he worried what I might think about this. "We parted on good terms, though." Wow. For someone with his looks he sure hasn't been too lucky with his relationships. He pokes my arm again, smiling faintly. "Now spill. What are you looking for in a possible partner?"

"P-partner?" For some reason this makes me blush to a deep shade of red, probably rivaling a tomato-red. "I, uhm... This is embarrassing... I've mostly just been looking at... breasts, you know. Harmless watching!" I hold my hands up as if promising it's the truth and surrendering to judgement. "But I've never really been... interested in anything. I never really looked twice at the girl's face." I can't bare to meet his eyes; I feel like a typical geek, who dreams of romance but is too nerdy to understand what it really means.

"So you've never had a crush on anyone?"

"No." Only my obsession with boobs, but that hardly counts as a crush on _someone_. Besides, when was the last time I looked at a womans body? Other than the ones drawn in the manga I read, I haven't paid much attention lately.

"Wow, 18 years old and not had a single crush on anybody. Mate, that's... that's... I don't know what it is! It's weird!" He was smiling jokingly, though - I took no offence. I wonder if he would be offended if I told him that _he_ is the only one I've found attractive. N-not in the way that I would want to _do_ or _make_ something of the attraction, but... Oh, never mind.

"H-how can I..." I swallow the thick lump in my throat, forcing the words to come out. "How can I make myself more attractive?" He blinks several times, just staring at me. I shouldn't have asked him? "Sorry, I just... thought that since you're bisexual and all, that you could, perhaps, give me some suggestions. I mean, should I cut my hair short? Should I dress differently? Talk diffe-"

"Whoa, mate! Stop!" He grabs my shoulders and shakes me, as if I was a kid who had done something very stupid and got reprimanded by my father. He's so close I can feel his breath on my face, and his eyes just swallows me, drowns me. "First of all, you should _never change _yourself to become something else!" I gulp under his intense stare, probably bruising from his firm hold on my upper arms. I can't move. Can't speak. "Secondly... You don't _need_ any advice." His eyes tells me he is dead serious.

"You... think I'm attractive?" What am I asking? That's not what he said! He just sa-

"Yeah." ... Did I just hear that right?... "I do."

How can I still remain seated when it feels like my heart is shifting me with its beating force? When did I drink a glass of sand to make my mouth this dry? I want to cough, but I fear doing that will break something precious - like this moment. What is going on? How can his eyes have such a cold, icy colour when they are so warm? _'N-no, don't move...' _Why this sinking feeling when he release his hold on me? Why do I feel slightly disappointed when he is no longer close to me? The inches separating his leg from touching mine feels like miles...

"Never feel you have to change for someone else, Keigo. If they don't want you for who you are, they're not worthy of your time."

"... Thank you." I manage to produce a smile. "Guess I only have to learn how to read those signs, then."

**x***x**x**x**x**x**

"Look, it's snowing again." I look over to where Grimmjow is standing by the window. White flakes are clear against the dark world outside, millions of suds falling down to cover the world in its clear white sheet, wiping it clean from dirt and dust. If you don't feel like a child on a night (or day) like this, you truly have turned into an old, grumpy bastard. Snow is fun! "Wanna go out?"

"Go out?" 'Go out' as in... going out? Him and me? Together?

"Yeah. You can borrow a pair of my gloves."

"Oh!" How stupid I am... "Yeah! Lets do it!"

It's three in the morning, or night, whichever you prefer to call it. It's snowing, the sky is brighter than it usually is at this hour, but that is only the snow fudging the vision, falling from high up. We went out to the field where we had shot up fireworks on Grimmjow's birthday so that we wouldn't wake up his neightbours, and you know what happened?

Can you guess?

He threw a snowball straight at my face! It hit. It was cold, though only loosely rolled into a ball so it didn't hurt as much by the impact. This meant war! He was already throwing a second snowball in my direction when I broke out of my stupor and began to gather ammo against him. My aim was good - I must have hit him four times on his head - playing video-war-games pays off! He hit me several times too, but only three times on my head - it's my win!

We must have been outside for almost an hour, only heading back home when we began shaking out of cold. The first thing we did when getting back to his apartment was to shed all our wet clothes then drink a hot cup of cocoa. After getting ready for bed we crawled in under the covers of his bed, feeling our bodies begin to melt; the hot cocoa hadn't been enough. I yelped when his icy toes snuggled in between my feet, and retaliated by placing my own icy hands on his bare tummy and at his lower ribs. You know what's funny? I don't feel one bit shame over lying, freely, in bed in nothing but my boxers, next to another similarly dressed man, touching him just for the sake of touching. For the sake of teasing him. Getting even. And, perhaps, for other more personal reasons. My own bed at home never felt this good...

"Nighty, pup," he finally said with a lazy smile and half-closed eyes, ruffling my hair like it was the natural thing to do.

"Good night, kitten. Sweet dreams."

"Mm. I'll meet ya there." It was mumbled, almost impossible to hear. He was already asleep, a smile still on his lips, looking so peaceful I envy him for a second.

"Yeah." Maybe I just wish the day hadn't ended so fast. Or that it had ended somewhat differently. But I am grateful for what I have, and right now that is a sleeping man only inches from myself, sharing his bodyheat with me. "Meet you there." If there isn't at least a kitten with blue fur in my dreams, I will be very disappointed...

**x***x**x**x**x**x****x***x**x**x**x**x**

**JUMP TO NEW YEAR**

**31 DECEMBER**

**x***x**x**x**x**x**

"How was the ride?" Grimmjow asked, letting the two teens enter his apartment.

"It was crowded," Keigo admitted. "We had to stand on the train, could barely move an inch. We had to force our way off when we got here!" He started to pull off his jacket, singalling for Kon to follow his example. "It will be a little while before we leave."

"Yeah, make yourselves at home." Grimmjow passed them to enter his bathroom, fixing his hair with spray to have the desired style. When he was pleased with how it looked he went into his livingroom, finding the teens sitting on the couch, Kishire occupying them whole-heartedly. "She's a better host than I am," he grinned, taking a seat next to Keigo. "Looking forward to the night?"

"Yes, I'm so excited!" Keigo squeaked.

"Great, pup." The blunette shifted his gaze to meet Kon's brown eyes. "How about you?"

"Yeah, sure, I'm excited." He was a little hesitant, out of his element so to speak. "Just don't dump me in there, I won't know anyone!"

"Heh, don't worry. My buddies are friendly, ya won't feel lonely one bit."

"Yeah, as friendly as our classmates were at the X-mas party?" Kon questioned skeptically.

"Maybe not as obsessed," Grimmjow admitted. "But I bet you could strike a conversation with most of them."

The three of them waited an hour until packing themselves into Grimmjow's car and driving off towards the Granz-brothers home. It was a large house with three floors, a large garden and a gate at the entrance and surrounding the garden. Billionaires are sometimes targeted, and the two brothers are a step ahead of the general security with cameras well placed all over the place. Several cars had parked on their driveway, but instead of parking down by the gate Grimmjow drove further in and up towards the garage. Nnotra's car was there too, as well as Tesla's, and the brothers cars most likely inside the garage. Once parked the three exited the car and loud music and voices could be heard from inside the house.

"Wow, this is huge!" Kon remarked, staring wide-eyes at the building.

"It is," Keigo agreed.

"Well," Grimmjow added, coming up between them and placing his arms on their shoulders, grinning. "Inside... it will feel cramped. Trust me." He lead them towards the entrance-door, glancing down at Keigo. "By the way, pup." Brown speckled with green clasped with his electric blue eyes and a grin spread across his face. "I expect at least one dance with you sometime this evening."

"A dance?" Keigo swallowed the lump in his throat.

"Yeah. I love dancing."

Neither of them noticed Kon staring at them. Albeit he looked absolutely nonchallant on the outside, he was laughing on the inside. Keigo must be a daft twit if he hadn't figured out that his blunette buddy was interested in him. Well, it was not his place to inform the brunette, so he would simply let them dance around each other until one of them grew bored of the game and threw in the towel. Perhaps then he would witness his very first live gay-kiss. Taken aback by his own trail of thought, Kon immediately snapped his head towards the door, which was currenly being opened by the most feminine guy Kon had ever laid eyes upon.

"Yo, bros," the man greeted with a smile. "I'm heading out to get some snacks and food for us hungry souls. Any request?"

"Popcorn!" Keigo exclaimed, grinning like a child.

"Right," the blonde male grinned. "Food-wise?"

"Just buy whatever you want," Grimmjow interrupted, pushing Keigo ahead and past the blonde male. "Oh, and Ilforte... This is Kon, Keigo's friend."

"Welcome to my simple home," Ilforte greeted, extending his hand.

"Thanks for letting me come," Kon said, shaking the hand of the stranger a little roughly just to make sure it really was a guy and not a frail guy or very manly woman. It _can _be hard to tell the difference!

"I'll be back shortly, bro." Ilforte pressed past Kon, perhaps a bit too closely for the teen to accept as innocent. At least he knew now for sure that Ilforte really was a guy.

Kon stared after the blonde, stunned, unsure what that gesture meant. Was the guy hitting on him? Did he aim to make Kon uncomfortable? Playing some game with him, maybe? His thoughts were broken when Grimmjow patted his shoulder. Kon noticed that Keigo was already gone, somewhere inside the house, and that he was left on the doorstep with the blunette for company. It might have been a mistake coming here...

"Don't worry, Ilforte doesn't know boundaries even if you spell it out for him." Grimmjow nodded towards the door. "Lets get inside, it's cold out here."

**x***x**x**x**x**x**

He was trying to listen to (but actually mostly ignoring) the ludicrous story Szayel was telling him about for the past fifteen minutes or so, every so often making some noise as if he actually agreed to what the pinkette was saying. He didn't care if the pink man bought it or not, coz he wasn't the one talking endlessly to deaf ears, but it was starting to become annoying; it sounded like a swarm of angry wasps and hornets trying to penetrate his skull, giving him a dull headache that only seemed to increase by the minute. This is why he hates parties of this size - it's too damn noisy. But in the midst of lazily scanning the busy room, something caught Nnoitra's attention enough for his eye to return twice to the same figure.

"Whoa, who's that dude?" he asked aloud, mostly to himself, but Szayel caught on and immediately noted whom his tall friend was referring to.

"Do you honestly believe that I know _all_ of the guests here?" He thought the answer to that was obvious, but either Nnoitra hadn't been listening or he was being ignored - whichever it was, it was rude. "Hey!" he shouted and hit Nnoitra's arm.

"Ow!" Nnotira complained mostly out of habit, rubbing his arm while glaring at the pink man. "Yer damn chick-moods are fuckin' annoying, dude."

"As I was about to suggest," Szayel continued, ignoring the chick-comment for now. "You should find my stupid blonde brother and ask _him_ about this mystery guest. I'm sure-"

"Huh?" Nnoitra was back at staring at the newly arrived male, barely hearing a word his friend had been saying.

"...Nnoitra..." Sighing dramatically and straightening his glasses, Szayel mentally drew a plan on how to make the unnaturally tall man suffer. "You really should pay attention to-"

"Oi, I'mma find yer bro, he always knows who ev'ryone is."

"Bastard!" But his clenched fist only hit air as Nnoitra had already stormed off. "I _will_ kill you one day," Szayel swore under his breath.

**x***x**x**x**x**x**

Surprisingly Keigo wasn't as boring as Kon had thought. When they made the deal that Keigo would go to the x-mas party if Kon went to his New Year party, Kon had expected a handful of boring, creepy manga-geeks and game-nerds - definitely not _this_. And not to this extent! It's a _huge_ place and lots of people that are older than them! How the heck Keigo managed to hook up with these guys was beyond Kon's comprehension, but he decided it was probably safer for his own sanity not to know the details; you probably had to sell your soul to the devil to be accepted among these huge guys. Who knows what Keigo had been forced to endure! But that aside, it was a great party. Too few females, but then he hadn't been expecting any females at all. Despite how he remembered Keigo chasing girls at school, the brunette seemed content with his male friends - they didn't even discuss woman at all! This was weird, as far as Kon was concerned. But it didn't matter; this was far better than to sit at home with his dad, watching TV. Would have been better if someone actually _noticed him_, though - even Keigo got preoccupied with that blunette guy, and everyone else was strangers. That didn't mean that Kon was bored or lonely - he can strike a conversation with just about anyone, and that's what he had been doing all evening. However, there was this one guy with pink hair whom kept glaring at Kon - naturally he stayed away from that particular person. Actually, it had gotten really loud in the house the last hour or so, and this is why Kon went out for some fresh air and for some peace and quiet. He probably should take this opportunity to call home and let his dad know that he's alright.

Sitting down on the staircase leading down from the glass-enclosed veranda, his amber eyes roam across the large yard that stretched beneath his dangling feet and at least another fifty yards from the house to the gate. It was a _mansion_ - one that made Kon somewhat envious of the owners. He, too, wanted to live in a place like this, have enough money to buy a mansion on his own - and he wanted that now more than ever. Sadly, that would remain a dream unless he married a rich woman, and so far he hadn't been all that lucky with girls lately. Ugh, why does girls fall for the shy guys these days... Or the bad ones... No matter! He really should call his dad.

Fishing out his phone, he started to press the buttons and just when he was about to press "call" the glass-slidedoor slid open, startling Kon, embarrassing him. The hell's he doing calling home - he's at a party for crying out loud! Not even Yuzu calls home! He quickly shut off his phone and glanced at whomever had joined him and found it to be that giant of a man he had seen with the pink-haired guy. They hadn't been introduced nor spoken to each other all evening, but Kon had seen him everywhere - kind of difficult to miss such a tall person. Besides, Kon thought the other had a very scary face, and the eye-patch was creepy - it's not Haloween, so what's with that?

"Ditchin' the party, eh?" the tall man commented, sitting down on the veranda-floor just by the door, keeping his eye locked on something besides Kon; the floor, the yard, the sky, basically anything apart from Kon's being.

"Nah, I only needed some air." Weird how he didn't seem to know what to say to this man - it almost never happened that he ran out of words. In the end he lamely returned the question. "And are you? Ditching, I mean." He cleared his throat, feeling out of place.

"Nope. Takin' a break from the noise, 's all."

"Heh!" A smile tugged at Kon's lips for reasons he did not know. "It's become kind of lively in there, hasn't it."

"Hn." The tall man made himself comfortable in a half-sitting/half-lying position, leaning his lean upper body on one elbow while taking a swig from a bottle of cider. "Ya're a friend of the mutt, right?"

"Mutt?" Kon stared, confused, at the man, wondering why he was even talking to him.

"Keigo," the man corrected, waving his bottle in the air as if that's what he had said already.

"Oh. Uhm, yeah, I suppose we are friends." He hadn't actually given it much thought, but Keigo was quite alright; maybe they really could be friends. He idly wondered if Ichigo was aware of this side of the brunette, but he guessed that barely anyone at school really _knew_ Keigo. Then again, he may simply be bluffing to fit in with these guys, though his happiness seemed genuine enough. "Never seen him enjoying himself like this, though," he absently confessed. "He has always been the outcast, or something like that."

"Keh, we're all freakin' outcasts 'ere, dude."

"Yeah..." That goes for Kon as well. Ever since him and Ririn broke up, he had been pretty lonely. His friends had been _her _friends, and they chose her in the end. It's not that he wanted her back, but he does miss having a laugh with friends. Actually, he had been feeling down lately, and this was the first in a long time that he could produce a true smile. "But we are not outcasts in a group, are we?" At least he didn't feel depressed anymore.

"Eh? 'Course we are! Stupid..." The giant shook his head with a sigh, taking another swig of cider before continuing. "Outcasts of the Society. No matter our number, we'll never be accepted."

"Oh..." Dumbfounded, Kon tried to stop staring at the other guy. Kon didn't feel like an outcasts of the society, didn't understand exactly what the guy was trying to say. "Uhm, what exactly makes you an outcast of society?"

"Ya don' know?" A small chuckle escaped the tall man, something he hadn't expected to hear himself, apparently. Clearing his throat, the male continued. "'s just bein' different, not followin' the mainstream." He stretched in an awkward angle, getting his joints to pop loudly enough for Kon to hear it. "Who fuckin' knows what makes ya different." Then he revealed a row of white teeth in a wide grin. "'xept for me. Barely anyone above 1:80 in this damn country, now _that_ makes _me_ a goddamn giant."

No arguing there. Kon gave a short laugh, glancing out across the yard again.

**x***x**x**x**x**x**

"Looks like at least one of us's gonna get hooked tonight," Grimmjow said grinning.

"Who?"

"Are you kidding, pup? Didn't you see Spoony and your friend out there on the porch?" He gestured towards the glassed door, from where they could see Nnoitra and Kon in seemingly comfortable silence together.

Keigo clearly saw Nnoitra in a new light. Calm, peaceful - not the constantly watchful troublemaker he had come to know. At first glance, Kon looked bored where he was sitting, but only because Keigo knew him to be energetic and hyper. But the look on his face was similiar to Nnoitra's. Yes, the two seemed to have become friends.

"Hooked?" Keigo repeated as if it only just now registered in his mind. His eyes widened and stared at Grimmjow in disbelief. "You mean... the Grinch - I mean, Nnoitra is gay?"

"Hm, I don't know for sure. He's never told us. But he never opens up that fast to anyone, obviously Kon caught his interest."

"B-but he's..." Keigo shook his head to clear his thoughts. "Jeez, there is just one surprise after another." He scratched his head. "But if you're right... If he is interested in Kon... He is going to be disappointed. Kon is straight as an arrow."

"I believe that an arrow is _pointed _and not straight," a new voice added. It was Ilforte joining them at the table, handing them each a fresh bottle of cider. "Besides... I might've tried to seduce your buddy if Nnoi wasn't out there. He's quite the catch."

"Jeez, am I the only straight guy in this building?"

"Not quite." Ilforte leaned on Keigo's shoulders, resting his chin on the brunette's head. "There is Tesla, who is straight as a ruler - and may I remark that _that_ is really straight. And of course, my darling bro."

"Szayel?"

"Yup, believe it or not, pup." Grimmjow eyed the brunette carefully. "Does it bother you that so many of us are-?"

"Nope," Keigo responded even before Grimmjow had finished his sentence. "You wouldn't be _you_ if you were anything else."

**x***x**x**x**x**x**

Amber eyes shifted to look at the stars twinkling on the dark sky, softening; he liked watching the stars, it made him feel less alone. There was an old saying that stars were dead spirits leading the living to make the right decisions and choose the right paths in life. Which star was his? Everything is a mystery to him and he doesn't seem to get any closer to finding the answers to any of the questions. One thing was sure, though... it was getting late.

"I don't want to go home." That was the truth. At home he didn't feel appreciated at all. Everyone toss him around like an old, worn teddybear - he's expecting the bin next.

"Then don't."

He had forgotten that he had company out there on the porch, but found that a smile grew on his lips at the revelation. Inside roared loud music and voices, but it had little to no effect on the two males seated on the porch, both staring up at the moon and the stars while time seemed to rush towards them, yet at the same time managed to stand completely still.

"Heh, some party-person I've been," Kon scolded himself, still unable to wipe the smile off of his face. "Sitting out here while missing out on all the fun going on in there."

"Whoa, ya make it sound like yer company's been bad."

Kon had to admit that he enjoyed the company of the tall, weird stranger - who had yet to offer his name. This male is yet another mystery that intrigues Kon, a puzzle he wants to piece together, a riddle he wants to solve. It was enough for him to stick around a little longer just to pry.

"No no, I like it out here." _'And the company too'_, but he chose not to voice that.

"Why don't ya wanna go home?" Ironically the stranger is the prying one while Kon reveals his own truths.

"Well, coz' I..." He trailed off, the smile dying from his features. Why _didn't _he want to go home? Compared to his brothers he is a lousy coward, afraid of his own shadow. Was it because he knew that Rukia (the girl he'd had a crush on since he met her) would be there, reminding him of yet another failure? After all, she chose Ichigo, Kon's identical twin, instead of him, despite being Kon's friend first. Or perhaps because Shiro was always there, proving again and again that he would always surpass Kon, no matter what. So many alternatives, all equally true. "Just don't want to. They wouldn't notice if I was there."

"Then don't go."

Kon shifted, looking at his companion, shocked to find that dark eye directed at him for the first time that evening. Their eyes was drawn together like magnets, a strange tingling sensation settling in the pit of Kon's stomach. It was as if the universe was centered on that single dark orb. It was making him uneasy. He was thankful when the dark-haired male shifted his gaze to something else, breaking their lock.

"Why do you drink that stuff?" Kon forced out, saying the first that came to mind; which happened to be the cider that his gaze landed on. "It's just... juice."

"Juice? Dude, this is way better than that bitter crap that burns in your throat and tastes like wood!"

"But it's... _fruity_."

"Fruity is good, then. Want some?" For some unknown reason, Kon accepted the half-empty bottle of cider from the stranger and took a small sip. Yep, fruity. But not disgusting. "By the way, I'm Nnoitra." The raven-haired male gave a half-hearted salute.

"I'm Kon." Now he had a name to the stranger. An oddly suitable name, at that. "Aren't you going back inside?" he found himself asking.

"Yeah. You?" Kon nodded, to which Nnoitra chuckled. "Lets go, then."

**x***x**x**x**x**x**

Some hours later, after a mindblowing show of firecrackers, rockets and fireworks beyond anything Keigo had ever seen, most of them returned into the Granz' house again, continuing the party. A new year, a new beginning. And Keigo had once more seen the fireworks with a pair of warm arms around his torso. Grimmjow drew Keigo against his chest the moment the sky began to light up with colours, and the brunette remained in his hold for at least thirty minutes. It didn't even occure to Keigo to look a little uncomfortable when Kon came up next to them, eyeing them suspiciously before focusing on the sky. Once inside Kon and Keigo challenged each other to a game of pool, both equally bad and neither accepting any advise. They never finished the game, because they were unable to hit the correct balls no matter how hard they tried. Next after them, Grimmjow challenged Nnoitra on pool, and Nnoitra won. To comfort his loss, Grimmjow pulled Keigo into the larger room and had the brunette dancing with him to a couple of songs, despite being more or less the only ones dancing. This is also the time Ilforte picked to come up to them and inform them.

"You don't mind sharing a room, right bros?" He smiled innocenty, fooling no one but Keigo. "'S just, a lot of people will stay the night, so we are a little short of rooms."

"Oh, I see!" Keigo failed to see Grimmjow's unimpressed expression to the obvious lie Ilforte had sold them - the house had enough rooms for everyone to fit into. Keigo, on the other hand, was too naive to question the logic behind Ilforte's statement. "But... What about Kon?"

"We'll take care of him," the blonde promised.

"We've shared before, we can do it again," Grimmjow interrupted. "'Sides, I've been drinking. Shouldn't be driving." He gave Ilforte a wink of an eye, pulling the brunette along. "I'll show ya my room, shall I?"

...

At the same time in the other room, Kon was sitting on a chair, watching while Nnoitra played pool with himself. The tall man has an aura of superiority around him, moving as if he was aware of every shift of muscle beneath his skin, controlled his surrounding by just being there. Kon was enthralled, following his every movement with a strange fascination, pretending to be watching the game of pool and not the man himself.

"I can teach you how to play," Nnoitra offered off-handedly, glancing shortly at the other male before returning his attention to the game.

"Nah, I prefer watching." Truth is, he was more interested in watching Nnoitra than anything else going on at the party at the moment. To him Nnoitra looked very much like a model. Tall, slim, atlethic, with a fine figure and a somewhat womanly face. Not to the point where one could get confused about his gender, but something about him made it difficult to tell if he was a manly woman or a womanly man. Granted, he acted far from womanly, but... his movements and style differed from his behaviour. The younger male just couldn't stop staring.

"You came here with Grimmjow, right?" Nnoitra continued his game of pool, speaking softly and somewhat aloof. "I don't think he's gonna be leaving tonight."

"What?" How was Kon going to get home? "I'm stuck here?"

"Looks like it." The tall man stretched lazily, flexing his hands before once more leaning over the green pool-table. "I've made a deal with Szayel, secured a room, ya'know. I'd be willin' to share."

"Share?" Could he? Was there more to the offer than just a room for the night?

"Yeah, ya'know... The bed is big 'nough for three, an' I don't think yer gonna try to kill me while I sleep. 'Sides, the trains and busses've stopped for the night, an' it's too far to walk all the way home, right."

"You have a point..."

**x***x**x**x**x**x**

LATE AT NIGHT

**x***x**x**x**x**x**

"So, pup." Grimmjow threw his shirt on the floor, standing in front of the shorter male like a predator. "Do I get a goodnight-kiss?" He grinned and wiggled his eyebrow suggestively.

Keigo nearly did oblige, stopping himself only because he remembered that Grimmjow was bisexual, and in his somewhat intoxicated state could get the wrong impression. What _is_ the wrong impression? And what is right? Shrugging he pointed to his own cheek and noted how Grimmjow's grin widened. A simple kiss on the cheek, that's all, nothing strange or suspicious about that. The blunette bowed his head down while Keigo rose to the tip of his toes, kissing the cheek like he had done a few times before. He was beginning to back away when Grimmjow shifted his face slightly, and soft, cold lips graced Keigo's cheek in return. He froze up, mostly because he hadn't expected it and because he had never recieved a kiss like that, ever. It sent shivers down his spine and he had to suppress a shudder; he assumed it was due to his inexperience with close contact. He eyes Grimmjow as the blunette shifted to his other cheek, nearly brushing their noses together, and gave a soft albeit longer kiss on that cheek as well. This time Keigo did shiver, blushing madly.

"Been ages since I kissed anyone," Grimmjow whispered, his breath tickling Keigo's neck. "Even on the cheeks." He pulled Keigo into a soft, warm embrace, resting his chin on the brunette's shoulder. "Happy new year, Kei-kun."

"Y-yeah." Keigo returned the embrace, feeling his heart pounding, _hearing_ it beat. "Happy new year."

**x***x**x**x**x**x**

It was a regular guestroom, nothing much in it but a drawer and a huge bed. It would be morning in a few hours, Kon reminded himself, feeling anxcious to be spending the night away from home, yet terrified that he really didn't know this guy he was about to share a bed with. Although this guy was at some level a friend of Keigo's, and Kon had spent several hours talking to the guy, it was still too far to say that they knew each other. He must be insane. But for once Kon wanted to do something risky, like his brothers always did. Both Ichigo and Shiro are fighters, and often stayed over at their friends' without asking permission or announcing it - well, if _they _could do it then so could Kon. Besides, he had no way of getting home either way, he was stranded here whether he liked it or not.

"Is... Is it okay if I sleep in my boxers?" he tenderly asked. It was a sensitive subject, leaving him flustered, but never the less he felt the need to ask because he didn't want to sleep in his clothes.

"Do as you please, I fully intend to sleep in _my_ boxers."

Nnoitra was pulling the covers off from the bed, throwing it in a heap on the floor before starting to undress with his back turned towards Kon. The room was dark, hiding Kon's prying eyes, but he feared being caught staring and he definitely didn't want to be the only one left to undress later. He, too, began to undress, sloppily folding his clothes instead of throwing it carelessly on the floor like Nnoitra had done.

**x***x**x**x**x**x**

"What is it with you and dark wallpaper?" The walls were dark blue in this room, not black like in Grimmjow's apartment, but still dark enough not to leave any shadows on the walls. It made the room a lot darker.

"Long story," Grimmjow mumbled, his eyes already closed and his cheek pressed into the pillow. "Does the darkness bother you?"

"No. But I would really like to know why the bedroom has to be so dark."

"Okay." The blunette opened his eyes, momentarily meeting Keigo's eyes before shifting them away. He looked thoughtful, as if searching for the right words. "I've got this really silly phobia. I see things. In the darkness. Shadows become alive. Even in a dark room there will be shadows on the walls, and... I just can't sleep if I know they're there."

"Fear of shadows?" A phobia Keigo had never heard of. "So... The shadows are less prominent on a dark wall? Makes sence." That explained a lot, but a phobia must have been born some a scare. "How did you get such a phobia?"

"How?" Grimmjow was silent for a time, contemplating his answer. "I've always been scared of shadows, but... it became worse after an... inscident in Belgium. That's partly the reason why I came here."

"What happened?"

"It's..." Grimmjow silenced, swallowed the bile in his throat. "It's a story for another time, pup." He closed his eyes. "I'm tired."

Keigo had a feeling it was something horrible Grimmjow did not wish to tell him about. The last thing he had wanted to do was to bring back painful memories. Feeling guilty he fell silent, listening to his friend's breathing.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to-"

"It's alright, pup." Grimmjow reached out and sleepily ruffled the mop of brown hair atop Keigo's head. "I'll tell you another time. Promise."

That was good enough. Keigo smiled and in return ruffled Grimmjow's hair, mirroring his older friend's actions.

**x***x**x**x**x**x**

Kon couldn't fall asleep. Sleeping in a house full of strangers in someone else's bed, _next to_ one of those strangers, well, that explains why he suddenly felt more awake than ever. He was certain that he had several missed calls already from his father wondering why he hadn't come home yet, but he didn't want to deal with that right now. He had texted Yuzu earlier, telling her that he would be staying over; he shouldn't need to give a _reason_ to anyone. Though perhaps it wasn't the smartest idea to share a bed with this guy. He could be a murderer! Nnoitra had seemed nice enough, but they always do in the movies. Though, if he was planning to murder Kon, it wouldn't happen until the tall man woke up again.

_'There weren't even any cute girls as the party,'_ he complained in his mind. _'And I barely saw Keigo all evening! Where the hell did he go off to?'_ He still couldn't fathom how Keigo had become friends with these people - he was like a raspberry among bananas here! And still... it made perfect sence. Kon had finally understood where Keigo had gotten his guts from, why the brunette suddenly had courage enough to stand up and play on stage with people that usually scared him. Coz Kon knows how scary Shiro can be on the best of days - for handling any situation with Shiro that well, Kon admires Keigo. Though, spending a night next to this scary guy isn't too bad either on his list of _'dangerous-things-to-do-before-you-die'_.

"Aren'cha gonna sleep?"

Kon froze his mind, afraid that his thoughts were loud enough to be audible. He had been completely certain that the tall male had been asleep! He pretended to be asleep even as he felt the bed shift, prayed that his bluff wouldn't be called. Then, after several minutes, he dared to open his eyes again - Nnoitra was asleep. Or at least, he thought the man was asleep. He needed to sleep, too.

...

...

...

Kon must have fallen asleep some time during the night, and despite the few hours he had been in the bed, he was wide awake at 0900, unable to focus on anything but the breathing of the man next to him. He couldn't believe what he had done - he had spent the entire night in bed next to a stranger! Anything could have happened! Nothing _had_ happened, though. Except... this guy - Nnoitra - had made a good impression on him. Maybe Kon really was... shifting team.

Glancing at the guy next to him he couldn't help but smile at the slightly open mouth and the drool. Kon has a feeling that few people has seen this soft, peaceful and vulnerable side of Nnoitra, and felt like he has been given a special privelege. Well, it _is_ special to _Kon_ to wake up next to a man, and whether or not he should be lying there waiting for the other to wake up, he wanted to remember this rare moment. Even though this means nothing... coz it doesn't mean a thing. One could speculate on Nnoitra's motif to offer half a bed to a stranger just to sleep in it, but Kon hadn't really picked up any signal of futher interest. He had to admit that he was slightly disappointed - this had been a glorious opportunity to find out if he really is turning queer; if things went wrong he could comfort himself knowing that he wouldn't have to see Nnoitra ever again. Maybe it wasn't too late yet.

Gathering his courage, Kon aimed for an innocent approach - that way he could blame it on sleep or the booze confusing his foggy mind. Starting low is the best approach, leading way to go upwards. His foot crept forward to brush the other's, in this case, calf, and the moment his skin made contact, Kon nearly had a heart-attack.

"Whaa~!" Nnoitra flailed with his arms, eye flying open just as he practically lifted off the bed and landed next to it on the floor with a loud thud, followed by a pained groan.

_'Abandon plan!',_ Kon decided, still trying to calm his breathing down. He startled when a scrunched up face appeared on the opposite end of the bed. _'Shit... Don't ever touch a guy unless you know that's what they want you to do, Kon!'_ He had to make up an excuse. Think fast! "Eh... Why are you on the floor? And what's with the screaming?" Better than saying _'oh, sorry, I thought you might be gay.'_

"Keh, dunno," the tall male replied, obviously trying to cover up his embarrassing reaction. "Must've been a nightmare or summit." He crawled back into bed, turning over his drooled-on pillow to have the dry side up. "Time's it?"

"A quarter past nine."

"Ya not gonna sleep more?" A lazy eye studied Kon, whom was now half sitting up. "Not even slept four hours, y'know." At that, an unexpected yawn escaped Kon, at which Nnoitra grinned pointedly. "See. _Sleep_."

"If you hadn't mentioned how few hours of sleep we've had, I wouldn've-"

"Yeah yeah. Just one more hour. Now shut up. And lie still this time."

_'...So he knew.'_ Beat red, utterly embarrassed, Kon obeyed, laid his head down on the pillow and managed to doze off.

**x***x**x**x**x**x****x***x**x**x**x**x****x***x**x**x**x**x****x***x**x**x**

**A/N:**

I know that this chapter is jumpy and skips a lot of time and details, but it was taking too long to finish and I don't want it to be too detailed.

Actually, it's better this way.

I hope you enjoyed reading!

**REVIEW **if you please, I love reading your opinions!

Stay tuned!

/_Namantos_


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